Boy killed in Christmas Day fire in Cebu

CEBU CITY — A 12-year-old boy was killed while at least 500 individuals were rendered homeless on Christmas Day after a fire struck a densely-populated area in Barangay Duljo Fatima here.

Authorities said the body of Cyrus Perez was recovered from one of the at least 200 houses that burned down.

Fire damage was placed at R3 million, said Chief Insp. Noel Nelson Ababon, the city fire marshall.

Ababon said they received the fire alarm at 3:47 a.m.

Firefighters from neighboring cities and towns responded when the fire was raised to task force alpha at 4:11 a.m.

The fire was placed under control at 6:26 a.m.

“Our problem was the narrow roads and there were so many cars parked by the roadside. The fire truck had a hard time reaching the fire site,” said Ababon.

The fire started in Sitio Buli and quickly spread to three other sitios, since most of the houses were made of light materials, said Ababon.

The affected families were temporarily housed at the barangay gym.

“Personnel of the city’s social welfare services and our office are assisting the needs of the fire victims,” said Nagiel Banacia, head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.

Meanwhile, the Cebu City Police Office described the Christmas celebration in the city as generally peaceful.

As part of its Oplan Ligtas Kapaskohan, the police conducted three operations and seized assorted firecrackers worth R11,956.

As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, there were no reported firecracker-related injuries or cases of indiscriminate firing, the police said.