Baby, 3, survives fire in Carreta
2 fires about 10 hours apart hit Sambag I and Carreta in Cebu City
IT WAS a miracle of life, amid the dark smoke and flames inside the mausoleums of the Ludo Memorial Park.
Dannilyn Arcilla, 22, lost her home just four weeks ahead of Christmas Day, but she said the fact that she and her three-weekold baby Ricajane survived the huge fire was already a gift.
“Bahala’g walay nadala basta lang… (I don’t care if I didn’t save anything),” she said, while clutching the infant closer.
The mother and child were among the survivors of the fire that hit Sitio Ponce Uno, Barangay Carreta yesterday afternoon.
About 10 hours earlier, another fire razed two houses and damaged three others in Sitio Angelus, Barangay Sambag I.
The Cebu City Government said it will provide the fire survivors in Barangays Sambag I and Carreta with meals for a few days and housing materials.
Department of Social Welfare and Services acting head Lea Japson said her office is processing the P10,000 cash assistance for the families that survived the fire.
In a separate interview, Sambag I village chief Lemar Alcover said they will not be providing an evacuation site for the 20 individuals displaced by the fire since they have relatives who live nearby.
“There won’t be any re-blocking because it was a minor incident. We can’t declare a state of calamity as well, but we will still provide some housing ma- terials,” he said.
Obstacles
The other fire, which struck Carreta, was raised to a second alarm when firefighters had a hard time reaching the interior portion of the area.
“Naglisod gyud ta kay mukatkat pa man ka’g panteon para makatira sa kayo unya naa puy agianan sa luyo, pwerteng gamaya (We had a difficult time and had to climb the roofs of the pantheons to blast water at the flames. There were also pathways behind the site but these were so small),” SFO3 Daniel Relatado Jr, fire investigator, said.
Twenty small shanties, which were made of light materials, were razed by the fire. The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) received the call for help at 3:55 p.m.
It was declared a second alarm and numerous fire trucks from neighboring barangays arrived to help. Relatado said that they put out the flames at 4:10 p.m.
Damage to property was pegged at P50,000.
Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the fire.
Jeffrey Zamora, a Grade 7 student, was among the students who watched the fire consume their school bags. He cried while hanging on to his mother.
“Akong mga notebook, naa didto, Ma (My notebooks are all there, Ma),” he wailed.
A man who was on his way to a review class in the hopes of becoming a teacher also cried when his certificates and passports were eaten by the flames.
Lodgers
Maria Ramos, 64, and Leo Ramos, 66, the grandparents of baby Ricajane, also survived the ordeal.
Leo had been paralyzed from head to foot because of complications, and his granddaughters and grandsons helped get him out of their burning house.
He sustained two light scratches from sharp aluminum sheets.
The BFP 7 did not report any casualties or injuries.
As for the other fire, the BFP 7 received the alarm at 6:32 a.m.
According to Michael Guado, a lodger, he noticed smoke coming out from another room whose occupant was out at that time.
Fire trucks from the neighboring barangays rushed to the scene, but the flames were declared under control 20 minutes later.
The initial investigation revealed an electrical short-circuit may have caused the fire. Property damage was pegged at P100, 000.