Toledo City fire razes 34 houses
A fire destroyed 34 houses in an upland barangay of Toledo City yesterday.
Toledo City Vice Mayor Arlene Zambo told Cebu Daily News it was the biggest fire to hit the midwest city since the 1990s.
Displaced fire victims are being temporarily housed in the DAS National High School.
Three firefighters were slightly injured.
The fire in sitio Bagong Buhay, barangay DAS-Lutopan, started in an uninhabited house owned by Ray Alguno, said Senior Fire Officer 2 Constancio Alcover.
An unplugged appliance or electrical misuse may have caused the fire, he said.
Most of the houses that were destroyed were made of light materials.
Property damage was estimated at P1.2 million.
Alcover, Senior Fire Officer 1 Silvestre Tiro and fire volunteer Christian de Guzman were slightly injured when they tried to put out the flames.
Social workers are attending to the fire victims with relief goods.
Vice Mayor Zambo said the City Council will give assistance in cash and construction materials.
Narrow paths into the center of the fire zone made it difficult for firefighters to enter.
Five fire trucks from Toledo City and other towns of Pinamungajan, Balambam, Minglanilla, San Fernando and Naga City responded to the alarm. /With a report from Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus
