111 families lose homes in Mandaue City fire

CEBU CITY, Philippines—At least 111 families were rendered homeless before noon on Monday when fire razed about 200 shanties in an urban poor village in Mandaue City.

No one was reported hurt but the blaze destroyed at least P2 million worth of property in Sitio (settlement) San Lorenzo Ruiz, Barangay (village) Jagobiao in Mandaue City, said Senior Fire Officer 1 Arnold Lao, Mandaue City Fire Department investigator.

The fire broke out in the house of Laurencia Dumalagan at 11:37 a.m. and was put under control at 12:35 p.m. with the help of other firefighters from the cities of Cebu, Talisay and Lapu-Lapu and the towns of Consolacion and Liloan, as well as other volunteer groups.

Dumalagan’s daughter-in-law Cecil told Lao that she was alone in the house when she smelled something was burning.

When she climbed the stairs, she saw that the second floor was on fire, which quickly spread to the nearby houses, which were made of light materials.

Lao said they had yet to determine the cause of fire but that it could be “electrical in nature.”

He added fire trucks had difficulty getting to the fire scene because the roads were narrow.

Classes were suspended at the Jagobiao National High School to give way to at least 500 fire victims who were temporarily staying in the school.

An initial list released by the Department of Social Welfare and Development showed that the displaced 111 families would each receive P10,000 in financial assistance from the Mandaue government.