Fire victims set to receive materials

CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama visited the fire victims of Poblacion Pardo last night and assured them of assistance.

“We will meet with the people concerned tomorrow(today) and we will have to finalize our reblocking plans along with the ongoing reblocking at T. Padilla and Tejero,” Rama said in an interview.

City Hall personnel will oversee distribution of the housing materials of the affected families at barangay Suba.

“We have prepurchased the housing materials and stockpiled them to be made readily available should the need arise,” said Alvin Santillana, Cebu City Local Risk Reduction Management Council executive director.

Santillana said their team will ask the bids and awards committee (BAC) to give them consideration on the emergency purchase of the materials for the rest of the affected families.

Cebu City Fire Marshall Aderson Comar said he will ask the city officials to consider extending the E. Sabellano Road to pass through the Pardo Public Cemetery to give easy access to fire trucks in times of emergency.

“The casualties of the Pardo fire incident was caused by the absence of an exit or an access. They were trapped since the fire started at their entrance and they were at the dead end,” he said.

He said it would have been useful if there were roads available for the fire trucks to drive around.

Comar also confirmed the allegations that the chief of the Pardo Fire Sub station brought the station’s fire truck to their headquarters at Pahina Central. He said the vehicle’s filter was broken and the fuel pump had some water in it.

“The chief was also asked to come to the station for a meeting connected to the observance of the fire prevention month,” Comar said in a radio interview.

He said even if the fire truck was there, it would still be hard for the vehicle to be used since the pathways are too narrow. Correspondent Edison delos Angeles