30 Baguio homes razed to the ground by Flag Day fire

FLAG DAY FIRE. Fire broke out from a house behind the Cordillera offices of the Departments of Public Works and Highways and of the Interior and Local Governments at Baguio City’s Engineer’s Hill on Saturday (May 28). Firemen had difficulty penetrating the narrow alley leading to the blaze before noon. The fire was initially attributed to an unattended cooking stove. Residents and tourists watched the fire intensify from rooftops and a local mall. PHOTO BY EV ESPIRITU

BAGUIO CITY—As many as 30 houses were damaged or gutted by a huge fire that struck the city’s Engineer’s Hill before noon on this year’s National Flag Day on Saturday.

The narrow alleys at the area populated by transients and college students prevented Baguio firefighters and volunteers from containing the blaze to a house kitchen where it was believed to have started at 11:30 a.m., the Baguio fire department said on Saturday.

The fire was finally stopped shortly before 5 p.m., leaving 44 families homeless at the former motorpool area.

Their houses used to stand behind the Cordillera buildings of the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of the Interior and Local Governments.

No one was injured as families gathered their children and belongings at noon and fled the area.

People could see the smoke from downtown Session Road. Many flocked to a mall at Luneta Hill to watch the blaze.