Huge fire hits Davao City
DAVAO CITY – Around 350 houses were razed when a four-hour fire hit Purok 1, Muslim Village, Km. 11 in Barangay Sasa here Friday. About 800 families were displaced in the incident.
The fire broke out at 11 a.m. and quickly spread as most of the structures in the area were made of light materials.
The Sasa Public Market sustained damage, as well as part of Sasa Wharf.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) raised general alarm at 12:25 p.m., with volunteers from as far as Panabo City, as well as private volunteer fire organizations, rushing to the scene to help contain the fire.
The fire was declared under control by 2 p.m., and declared fire out by 3:15 p.m., the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said.
The City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO) is now validating the condition of residents who lost their homes in the fire.
The CSSDO has also deployed its mobile kitchen to distribute cooked meals near the Fatima Gym.
Some of the displaced residents stayed in makeshift tents in nearby shelters.
Damage was estimated to be around R3 million.
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said that the city has not yet decided on purchasing its own watercraft and possibly air assets, such as firefighting choppers for such kind of fire incident.
As of 2017, these were not part of the city's investment plans that were included in its disaster preparedness funds.
"I will have to ask nga ang atoang disaster office kung prudent ba mupalit ug ingon ana especially nga dili kada adlaw ginagamit (if it's prudent to acquire the equipment especially if we will not be using these every day)," Mayor Duterte-Carpio said.
"Basin maoverspend lang ta sa maintenance sa mga ingon ana, so best siguro kung they will study the need kung naa bay mupalit ug chopper and the seacraft for mga sunog (We might overspend for maintenance, so it’s best we study if there would be anybody who would buy choppers and seacraft for containing fires)," she said.