3 injured as fire razes houses in Cebu City

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Three people were injured when a fire razed 80 homes in Sitio Silangan 2, Barangay Tejero, in Cebu City on Friday afternoon, April 26. 

“Ang affected nato 80 houses totally damaged, duna ta’y partially burned nga napulo ka balay,” said Cebu City Fire Marshal Noel Ababon. (There are 80 houses that were totally damaged, 10 houses that were partially burned.)

Ababon said the first alarm was received at 4:50 pm. At 5:11 pm, the alarm was raised to Task Force Alpha.  

“Ang Task Force Alpha buot ipasabot ana, outside Cebu City nga mga fire truck, amo na nang gipatawag para mo support,” Ababon explained to reporters. (What Task Force Alpha means is that the firetrucks are coming from outside of Cebu City. We called them for support.)

The fire was declared under control at 6 pm, and the damage was estimated at P1 million. 

Despite the water shortage that the city is facing due to El Niño, Ababon assured the media they did not encounter shortage of water while responding to the fire.  

“Nag kinahanglan gyud mi og tabang ani, wala gyud mi nangadala, hurot og ka sunog,” Redgiebie Monares, 23, told Rappler. (We really need help, we weren’t able to bring anything, it was all destroyed in the fire.)

She said she had lived in Sitio Silangan her entire life. 

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire. – Rappler.com