Ormoc City blaze leaves 40 families displaced, 30 homes razed
TACLOBAN CITY— A late-night fire razed a residential area in Ormoc City, Leyte, leaving dozens of families homeless after destroying 30 houses and a classroom-laboratory building in Barangay Naugan on Sunday night.
The third-alarm fire broke out in Purok 3 at around 11:52 p.m., rapidly spreading through a densely populated community and causing an estimated P2 million in property damage.
The Ormoc City Fire Station received the alarm at 11:57 p.m. Firefighters arrived at the scene by 12:06 a.m. on Monday.
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The blaze, which also gutted the laboratory classroom of Naungan Elementary School, was placed under control at 1:12 a.m. and fully extinguished at 2:14 a.m.
The City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWD) reported that 154 individuals from 40 families were affected by the fire.
Evacuees are currently sheltered at the barangay covered court, with additional tents set up by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).
The City Health Department (CHD) has provided hygiene kits, while the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has extended food assistance to the evacuation center.
Eight fire trucks from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), along with reinforcements from nearby fire stations in Baybay, Merida, Albuera, Kananga, and Isabel, responded to the incident.
No casualties or injuries were reported.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire./coa
