286 families left homeless by morning fire in Calamba
At least 223 houses were destroyed and 286 families were affected by a morning fire that hit Sitios Almacen and Alceca in Barangay Calamba, Cebu City yesterday.
Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office Head Nagiel Bañacia said the fire victims are temporarily sheltered at Remedios Parish grounds.
According to initial reports, the Cebu City Fire Station received the alarm at 6:30 a.m. and it was declared under control at 7:46 a.m.
Department of Social Welfare Services Chief Lea Japson told The FREEMAN that they distributed packed meals to 1,158 individuals, as an immediate response after the fire. The food distribution continues until tomorrow.
Japson further said there is still an ongoing validation of the affected families for the releasing of financial assistance amounting to P20,000.
She clarified that P20,000 will be given to the families whose houses were totally burned while P10,000 will be given for partially damaged structures.
Meanwhile, Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) Head Meriam Fernandez told reporters that her personnel are still assessing the area in order to determine the total damage and to get a record of the affected residents.
The DWUP still has to identify how many of those fire victims are subject for demolition.
Right now, one of the possible ways is to negotiate with the lot owner if the city can purchase the property.
With the fire incident yesterday, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said it is high time to distribute fire extinguisher to the barangays.
He said the residents will be clustered, and, in every cluster, there is a corresponding fire extinguisher.
In Barangay South Poblacion, Naga City, a storage room for used car batteries was razed by fire Tuesday afternoon.
Chief Investigator Senior Fire officer 3 Joceline Escomo of the Bureau of Fire Protection-Naga said that the fire started at the ceiling of the storage room owned by a certain Macario Onopia, 62, a resident of the place.
She disclosed that the station received the alarm 3:37 p.m. Damage to the fire was estimated at P30,000.
They believed that a short circuit of the electrical wirings was the cause of the fire.
No injuries or fatality reported in the two fire incidents.