FIRE GUTS 50 HOUSES IN BARANGAY T. PADILLA

About 50 houses were razed in a fire that struck Sitio Bahaw, Barangay T. Padilla, Cebu City last night. According to SFO2 Jovito Abelgas, operations chief of the Cebu City Fire Station, they received the alarm at 5:58 p.m. They traced the origin of the fire to a room of Reymond Besin in the house owned by Era Ortega. The fire was raised to a second alarm at 6:08 p.m. and a third alarm at 6:17 p.m. It was placed under control at 6:42 p.m. Abelgas said they are still investigating the cause of the fire after receiving reports that a butane canister exploded in the area. “We will invite Besin to shed light on the reports that an unattended butane (canister) was the cause of the fire,” Abelgas said. Damage was pegged at P500,000. Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who went to the fire scene, said he contacted the Department of Social Welfare and Services to help the fire survivors. “It’s our template to give food packs as dinner to the affected residents if the fire struck at night,” Labella said. As for reports that the area is subject for demolition, Labella said that the City will provide legal or financial assistance to those affected. “There’s no demolition unless there’s relocation because that’s in the law,” he said. The area was also struck by a fire that displaced 2,000 families in August 2010.