542 left homeless

Teenager throws baby into mother’s arms, saves her life

Firefighters stopped the flames from spreading 30 minutes after they reached the scene in Barangay Suba, Cebu City; needed 3 hours more to put it out It’s not the first time a fire hit the densely packed community, and a City Hall official thinks it’s high time the site got a wider passageway

THE Cebu City Government will double its aid of P10,000 for each family that suffers from a fire, starting with the 144 families whose houses a fire razed yesterday in Barangay Suba. An initial report listed 66 houses lost, with 144 families or 542 persons left homeless, but a City official expects the numbers to go up.

Firefighters still have to confirm what started the fire that hit Sitio Kagutungan in Barangay Suba, but one of the early theories is that it began with a candle that had been left unattended.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) received the call for help at 4:20 a.m.

It allegedly began in the home of Edwin Bacalso, whose 11-year-old son was alone at the time. Edwin is in jail and the boy’s mother was reportedly away.

According to FO3 Antonio Gonzales, a candle had been left on top of a plastic monobloc chair until it melted.

The fire damaged an estimated P500,000 worth of property.

Baby saved

Jade Bacalso, 34, one of the residents, said that when she woke up, the fire had already consumed most of their house, which was made of light materials.

“It was already too hot. We jumped through the window because the fire was everywhere,” she said.

Julian Baybay, 17, saved her two-month-old baby by tossing the child out of the burning house and into her arms, Jade added.

“Wala gyud tawon mi nahipos kay kadlawon man gud (We failed to save anything because it was so early),” another resident said.

Firefighters placed the flames under control 30 minutes after the alarm, meaning the fire was no longer spreading to other parts of the neighborhood. They put it out at 9:06 a.m.

The BFP recorded two injured persons, a minor and Wilfredo Daan, 30, who sustained minor burns and were immediately treated.

Survivors now need clothes, groceries and building materials like aluminum sheets, nails and wood.

Suba Barangay Captain Joel Sable Sr. said that he coordinated with Sawang Calero to temporarily house the fire survivors in their sports complex, as it was nearer than other facilities to the lots where the families used to live.

Reserves

Because the lots had been titled, the residents can build their houses again in the same area, Sable said.

He said the fire spread quickly because the houses were packed so close together.

The City Government’s Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) started giving food packs for breakfast, lunch and dinner to the fire survivors yesterday.

In an interview, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he asked the DSWS to immediately assess the situation so that the City can give its aid to the fire survivors.

“We have enough reserves in the calamity fund for us to distribute. I’m not using this calamity fund for stupid expenses. It should go to the real victims. P10,000 is already too small, so we’ll double it. If we’ll make it too big... there are so many fires in the city. We need to balance it out,” he said.

Although DSWS has yet to work on the mayor’s directive, acting head Lea Japson, in a separate interview, said that her office had started distributing meals to the affected families.

She expects the number of those displaced to go up while the DSWS continues its assessment.

Materials

“On Thursday, we will be handing out housing materials which will include 10 sheets of galvanized iron roofing materials and 10 pieces of plywood. The mayor also wants to give out kits. He ordered the installation of a free butane stove, which came with a canister, for the families who are staying in the local gym,” she said.

The City may re-block the affected area to provide a 1.5-meter walkway for easier access.

Nagiel Bañacia, however, clarified that the City Government has to assess the area and consult the affected families, together with the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) and the village officials.

He heads the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

“The City had already awarded the lots to the residents so we may have to negotiate. It’s high time we conducted a re-blocking because the same incident had happened about three years ago. We’ll also hold a consultation with water emergency units for slum areas,” Bañacia said.

For the moment, DWUP officer-in-charge Genevieve Alcoseba declined to comment, saying she has yet to review her team’s site assessment.