Cotabato province map. INQUIRER FILES
KIDAPAWAN CITY–A fire gutted down seven residential houses and 12 business establishments near the public market of Makilala town, Cotabato province at dawn of Sunday, August 27, a town’s chief fire investigator said.
Fire Officer 3 Kim Arjay Cruz, officer in charge of the investigation, said the fire broke out around 4:40 a.m. on Sunday, while some people were still asleep. He said the fire had already spread to the nearby business establishments when firemen arrived at the scene.
Cruz initially pegged the damage at P2 million but it could be more as several victims hadn’t submitted yet an estimate of their losses.
Luckily, no one was hurt. “Seven families (who are affected) are all safe and are temporarily taken care of by their relatives,” Cruz said.
The Makilala local government has committed to give assistance to the affected families and to possibly allot a portion of the town’s newly-built mega market to the businessmen who lost their stalls to the fire.
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