Afternoon fire in Mambaling razes 4 houses
THE two separate fires in Barangays Lahug and Mambaling in Cebu City yesterday afternoon were blamed on electrical short circuit.
Both incidents razed four houses and damaged a hair salon, an Internet café and a bakeshop.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) received the fire alarm in Mambaling at 3:13 p.m.
Firefighters placed the fire under control at 3:18 p.m., but the flames weren’t put out until 4:16 p.m.
Findings
According to the initial investigation of SFO1 Edwin Handayan, the fire started in the house of James Navarro. He was renting it from Ledia Romares.
It was clear the fire’s origin could be traced to electrical short circuit as there were wires exploding and producing shrieking sounds in the fire scene, Handayan said.
As a result, Handayan raised the emergency status to second alarm, meaning all fire trucks in the city were required to help put off the fire in Sitio Tinabangay Dos.
The fire also gutted the houses of a certain Meling, Lorna Baya and Lito Villaver.
It damaged the house owned by Vincent Decdeken and Belen Oriendo, as well as the Elizabeth Cafe and a pawnshop owned by Boy Nuñez.
Handayan estimated the structural damage to be at least P50,000.
Lahug blaze
In Lahug, only the Sam- paguita Parlor on Gorordo Ave. caught on fire for four minutes after it started at 2:36 p.m.
When the fire truck from the Lahug Fire Sub- station arrived at 2:40 p.m., the fire had been put out by the people in the area.
A certain Radel Villacrosis had called the BFP 7 to report that an electrical short circuit caused the parlor fire.
The substation did not further investigate the matter.