Fire swept through the interior of two barangays of Carreta and Tejero, destroying about 150 houses at noon yesterday.
It was the biggest recorded fire of the year in Cebu City after the Aug. 9 fire in T. Padilla, which destroyed over 100 houses, officials said.
Most of the victims yesterday were low-income and middle-income families living in crowded neighborhoods where fire trucks couldn’t enter due to narrow access roads.
No lives were lost based on initial reports. A 17-year-old boy hurt his leg when a hollow block fell on him. A fireman also collapsed from the fumes.
It took more than an hour to control the blaze, which broke out 11:45 a.m. in sitio Ponce Dos in barangay Carreta. Most of their trucks ran out of water, said Sr. Supt. Anderson Comar, Cebu city fire marshal.
The road was also blocked by residents scampering to save their belongings.
“If the road was clear, the firefighters could have entered the area faster,” said Alvin Santillana of the Cebu City Risk Reduction Management Council.
The fire was traced to a boardinghouse owned by Violeta Ligan. Varying reports of the cause of the fire, including one of an unattended cooking fire for lunch, still have to be verified.
Part of the Carreta Elementary School, about six houses away, was also burned, but classes were quickly dismissed and students were evacuated.
Alfredo Jumao-as, school property custodian, said he rang the alarm bell when he noticed thick smoke coming from adjacent houses.
Fire drills practiced earlier by pupils and teachers in June helped their reaction time.
Carreta barangay captain Eduardo “Boy” Lauron said most of the houses were made of light materials and that many residents were squatters.
Witnesses said they heard a loud explosion before seeing flames come out of Ligan’s two-story house. Lauron, however, said he saw a fire start in the roof of Windy pawnshop. A full investigation still has to be made.
Strong winds caused the fire to easily spread to at least three sitios of the adjacent barangay Tejero. Sitos Sambag, Laurente and Terakora were affected, said Tejero Councilor Gary Lao.
A 17-year-old boy, RJ Cuevas, injured his leg after he was hit by a falling hollow block, according to the Philippine Red Cross.
A fireman who collapsed from the fumes was also brought out by his team mates. The fire was put under control at l:21 p.m. Reinforcements came from firefighters of the cities of Naga, Talisay, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu as well as towns of Minglanilla and Consolacion.
The barangay captains of Tejero and Carreta said they would have their neighborhoods declared in a state of calamity by their barangay councils.
Families affected by the early-afternoon fire took shelter in the Carreta sports center.
Packed meals were served starting last night by the social welfare office. The emergency relief food will continue for three days as standard procedure.
Councilor Alvin Dizon said the families were occupying a city government-owned lot and were in the process of applying for a free patent under Republic Act 10023 or the Act Authorizing the Issuance of Free Patents to Residential Lands.
Dizon, the council’s chairman of the housing committee, said he would make sure the fire victims can rebuild their homes in the same area.
Mayor Michael Rama rushed to the fire site in Carreta from T. Padilla, where he was inaugurating a road opening. T. Padilla was also hit by a big fire a year ago.
Rama said an access road has to be opened in the thickly populated area and reblocking may have to be done. /With Chief of Reporter Doris BOngcac