Shanty razed in Mandaue fire

A SHANTY owned by a scavenger was razed by a fire which may have been caused by a lighted cigarette thrown in a pile of plastic trash in barangay Umapad, Mandaue City.

The shanty owned by Alex Regala, 24, was 110 meters from a dumpsite in Purok Tambis.

The fire was contained minutes later after it was reported at 11:21 a.m. yesterday, said SFO1 Cipriano Codilla Jr., fire investigator of Mandaue City Fire Department.

Damage was pegged at P10,000.

Regala said the P1,800 cash that he saved for Christmas was also burned. He said he had been living in the shanty for 13 years.

The scavenger said the clothes he wore during the fire was the only belonging left in his possession.

Regala said he was hoping that the city government could help him. He said the barangay chapel will serve as his temporary shelter./CORRESPONDENT JUCELL MARIE P. CUYOS