AN EARLY morning fire in Barangay Capitol Site, Cebu City on Tuesday, June 22, 2021, destroyed two houses and damaged another.
Fire officials in Cebu City pegged the damage at P12 million.
Aside from infrastructure damage, the fire also injured four persons, including two firefighters.
Fire Officer 3 Emerson Arceo, one of the investigators of the Cebu City Fire Department, told reporters that the fire occurred at a bunk house situated in Ma. Christina Street, Barangay Capitol Site.
Firefighters received the alarm at 9:54 a.m., Arceo said.
When firefighters arrived at the area, they saw that more men were needed to put out the fire.
The fire was placed under control at 10:58 a.m.
Four persons were reported injured, including SFO2 Romeo Birao, who was rushed to the hospital after complaining he couldn’t breathe while fighting the fire.
Another person who got injured was Villalimos Meljone, 21, a fire volunteer for Barangay Basak San Nicolas. Meljone hurt his head after the fire hose he was holding slipped from his hand and struck him.
Ronan Alinday, 41, and Susan Tan, 62, both residents in the area, also sustained injuries when they tried to save their homes from the blaze.
Birao said that while they are still investigating what caused the fire, they received reports from residents there that an explosion was heard inside the bunk house just before the fire started.
Paul Panganiban, who resides near the bunk house, told reporters he initially saw smoke coming out from the structure.
Panganiban said he heard an explosion coming from inside the bunk house. (GPL / JKV)