New Year blaze leaves 450 families homeless in Mandaue, Cebu

CEBU CITY — It was a heartbreaking New Year for at least 450 families who were left homeless after fire hit two densely populated villages in Mandaue City, Cebu, past midnight on Sunday.

Lighted firecrackers might have triggered the fires in Sitio Sto Nino, Barangay Guizo and Sitio Salvacion, in Barangay Maguikay, said Felix Suico Jr., head of the Bantay Mandaue Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.

“Based on accounts of residents, the fire could have been caused by a baby rocket but we still cannot make a final conclusion because the investigation was still ongoing,” he said.

Suico said fire victims were temporarily staying at the covered basketball courts in the two barangays while awaiting help from the city government.

Mandaue Mayor Gabriel Luis Quisumbing said he deployed personnel from the City Social Welfare Services (CSWS) office to attend to the needs of the fire victims.

He said they already set up tents close to the fire sites so CSWS personnel could start listing the names of the fire victims and give them food.

Suico said four fires were reported in Mandaue shortly before and after the New Year’s revelry.

The first incident, a car fire, was reported at 11:14 p.m. in Barangay Bakilid.

An unmanned six wheeler wing van caught fire while parked near the 7D Dried Mangoes office.

The second fire that was reported to the city command center at 12:27 a.m. affected a warehouse in Barangay Looc.

The warehouse owned by a Taiwanese national was used to store electrical supplies.

Suico said firefighters had difficulty putting out the fire at the warehouse because it was locked and the security guard on duty did not have duplicate keys.

But firefighters managed to prevent the fire from affecting nearby homes.

It was at 1:01 a.m. when the city’s command center received another fire alarm for Sitio Sto Nino in Barangay Guizo which displaced 300 families.

While personnel from the city fire department were fighting the fire in Guizo, another blaze broke out in Sitio Salvacion in Barangay Maguikay at 1:03 a.m.

Suico, who was then at the command center when the Maguikay fire broke, said he immediately proceeded to Sitio Salvacion and called on residents to vacate their homes for their safety.

He said fire trucks from Barangay Hipodoromo in Cebu City and Matimco Incorporated were the first to respond to the Maguikay fire.

Suico said that the Matimco tanker fed water to the Hipodromo truck that sprayed water into the fire site which was located in the interior of the barangay.

“Only a few responded in the Maguikay fire because they were there fighting the fire in Guizo,” he said.

At least 150 families were displaced in Barangay Maguikay, said Suico.

Suico said the Maguikay fire was put out at 2:26 a.m. while the Guizo fire was put out before 3 a.m. CBB