Fire razes at least 100 homes in Cotabato City

COTABATO CITY—More than 100 families welcomed the New Year without homes after a fire of still unknown origin razed at least 100 homes in a densely populated residential area here hours before 2017, a fire official said.

According to Cotabato City Fire Officer 2 Hexter Jan Cadavero, the conflagration started at about 5:25 p.m. in a house in Purok Tukananes in Barangay Poblacion 7, and quickly spread to nearby houses all made of light and semi-concrete materials.

Nobody was hurt in the two-hour fire.

The fire scene was less than 100 meters from the Cotabato City Bureau of Fire Protection headquarters, but the Matampay river separates the fire office and Purok Tukananes.

Firefighters used wooden banca to bring fire hoses across the river closer to the fire scene. Narrow roads leading to Purok Tukananes prevented fire trucks from getting closer to the site.

Tato Aslig, a resident of Purok Tukananes, said the fire started in a house where the owners were out. He suspected it was caused by electrical short circuit due to “octopus connections.”

The same residential area was also gutted by a fire on Nov. 1, 2013.