Photos courtesy of Mark Anthony Bustamante
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — Some 206 families or around 821 individuals are currently staying in an evacuation center after they were left homeless by a three-hour fire that broke out on Sunday afternoon in Barangay Lapasan in this city.
The displaced families are using the village’s covered court as temporary shelter, said village chief Julito Ogsimer.
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Their homes were completely gutted by flames that originated from a house amid the densely populated Sitio San Lazaro at past 2.p.m. on Sunday.
Fire Senior Inspector Kyle Bryan Lauzon said the fire was initially traced to the residence of a certain Cerelio Sumampong, sparked by faulty electrical wiring.
By past 5 p.m., when authorities declared a fire out, the blaze, fanned by strong winds, had engulfed the houses of San Lazaro’s Zones 3 and 4.
No one was reported hurt during the fire that damaged an estimated P1.5 million in properties.
It was the fifth fire to have hit the city this year.