NEIGHBORHOOD BLAZE Firefighters train their water hoses on the roofs of burning houses in Barangay Niog, Bacoor City, to stop the spread of the fire that broke out on Saturday afternoon. The fire razed 30 houses. —BARANGAY NIOG FACEBOOK PHOTO
LUCENA CITY—An hourlong fire razed 30 houses on Saturday in Bacoor City in Cavite province and displaced 82 families, or 227 people.
According to a city police report issued on Sunday, three persons were treated for wounds and an unspecified ailment after the fire.
The police in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) or Region 4A was still investigating the origin of the blaze that erupted at around 4:21 p.m. in Barangay Niog.
The Bacoor City fire station said property damage has yet to be determined.
The fire victims were temporarily housed at the village elementary school where local social workers were attending to them, fire authorities said.
Fires in Laguna
On Feb. 9, a fire of still unknown origin also broke out in Cabuyao City in Laguna province, razing five houses, police said.
In a report on Saturday, the Police Region 4A said the blaze, which struck at 3:10 p.m. in Barangay Bigaa, hit houses made of light materials.
According to barangay officials, the latest fire incident in their village displaced 14 families (68 people) who were temporarily settled at the covered basketball court in the village.
READ: 30 houses razed in Bacoor City fire
On Feb. 1, five persons died after a firecracker factory exploded and caught fire in the same barangay. Fire investigators were looking into the mishandling of firecrackers as the possible cause of the explosion.
Cabuyao City Mayor Dennis Hain, in an executive order on Feb. 2, ordered the temporary suspension of all fireworks manufacturing operations in the city “for 30 days without prejudice to subsequent extensions in case of necessity” to give way to inspections that would ensure their compliance with government rules and regulations. —DELFIN T. MALLARI JR. INQ