38 houses gutted in Mandaue city; Sparks came from electric post

At least 38 houses were burned down shortly before midnight in sitio Vito, barangay Banilad, Mandaue City on Monday.

“We were only able to save some of our clothes. The rest of our things were lost in the fire. This is probably the saddest Christmas for us,” said resident Dyan Delda.

Some residents pointed to sparks in a wooden electric post as the possible cause, saying this was the subject of recurring complaints in the neighborhood.

“Last August, we also almost had a fire when that electric post suddenly caught fire. We were able to put it out with a fire extinguisher. This time, it was too late for us,” said Pedro Canalis, one of the fire victims.

He said they already reported the electric post to the Visayan Electric Company (Veco).

“They checked it and fixed it but I don’t know why this still happened,” he said.

Veco spokesperson Ethel Natera said the matter is under investigation.

She said Veco’s engineering department clarified that sparks are caused by loose electrical connections that can be corrected but they do not develop into flames.

“It’s unfair to judge Veco based on the sparks. Hopefully the fire department is careful in issuing statements. Our emergency crew went there and they have a different point of view from laymen looking at the sparks,” she said.

The fire alarm was raised at 11:53 p.m. The fire was placed under control in 20 minutes.

Fire victims were evacuated to an empty lot in the Honda Motors compound.

The morning after, barangay Banilad officials said 51 homeowners and six renters were officially listed as fire victims.

Social workers started serving emergency meals and distributing relief goods like kitchen utensils and blankets to the fire victims sheltered in a tents.

Sari-sari store ownerJanice Dugaduga, eight months pregnant, was frantic at the height of the fire.

She had left home a few minutes before the fire started to attend to their small store. She left her son and daughter, six and two years old, sleeping at home.

“I can’t believe this is happening, where are my children?” Dugaduga cried, while begging the firemen to find her children.

She was relieved to find out that her cousin and husband had come home from work and were able to get the children out of the house.

“I don’t care about all the other things. I’m just happy that my children are safe,” she said.

Buenaventura Oporto, who is in his 90s, was also able to escape the fire alone with his cane.

“I can’t believe I was able to escape so fast even though I can hardly walk,” he said.

He lost all his belongings, including P40,000 saved up for Christmas.

But Oporto said he was happy to be safe as well as his nephews who live with him.

FO3 Cipriano Codilla, fire investigator, said the fire spread quickly, eating up houses clustered close together and made of light materials.

Codilla said the fire started in the house of Imelda Sarabosing, whose family members were up watching TV at the time. The Veco post is about one meter away.

Two other residents, Lloyd Linabog and Joseph Canumay, said they saw sparks coming from the Veco post .

Complaints of looting in the fire scene were reported.

Codilla said it was tragic that residents were able to save some appliances and belongings only to have them taken away by thieves. Carine M. Asutilla and Jucell Marie Cuyos, Correspondents with Jhunnex Napallacan and Dale Israel