ILOILO City – Seventeen families, comprising 77 individuals, were displaced after a fire swept through a residential area in Barangay Calajunan, Mandurriao district, late Saturday morning, November 14.
According to the Bureau of Fire Protection-Iloilo City Fire Station (BFP-ICFS), the fire broke out at around 10:57 a.m.
Responding firefighters raised the first alarm at 11 a.m. and escalated it to the second alarm six minutes later as flames rapidly spread to neighboring houses.
The fire was placed under control at 11:29 a.m. and declared out at 11:56 a.m. No injuries or fatalities were reported.
SFO1 Denmark Macoco, acting chief of the BFP Iloilo City Intelligence and Investigation Unit, said an unattended refrigerator was being eyed as the possible source of the fire.
The blaze reportedly started inside the residence of 44-year-old Engie Papelera.
Papelera said their family had left the house the previous day to attend a funeral in Pototan, Iloilo, and inadvertently forgot to unplug their refrigerator before leaving.
“Wala sang may nabilin nga tawo sa amon balay. Nagkadto kami sa Pototan. Ang amon appliances nakasaksak, ang ref. Pag-abot namon, wala na kami may naabtan,” Papelera said.
Macoco said firefighters faced challenges in containing the blaze as most houses in the area were made of light materials and built close to one another, allowing the flames to spread rapidly. The intense midday heat also aggravated the situation.
BFP investigators initially estimated the property damage at P126,000.
Among those who lost their homes was 50-year-old construction worker Fernando Sarino, whose house was totally burned.
Sarino told Panay News that he was at work when the fire broke out and initially could not believe that his house had been reduced to ashes.
“Sa obrahan ako ga-construction, panday ako. Pagtawag nila, wala ako gapati nga pagpauli ko, upos na ang balay ko. Wala na gid bilin,” he said.
Sarino said seven people, including his children, were living in the house. They managed to escape after his sons-in-law woke up one of the children who was sleeping when the fire started.
“Pito kami sa balay ko, mga kabataan ko. Wala gid ako may nasalbar nga gamit. Ang bata ko nga isa tulog, maayo ginpukaw sang akon mga umagad,” he said.
He added that his sons-in-law had to force the locked gate open to help the family escape as the fire had already spread.
Meanwhile, a subsequent assessment by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) placed the final number of affected houses at 13, of which 11 were totally burned and two partially damaged.
All 17 affected families are temporarily staying at the Barangay Calajunan Hall.
Various emergency response teams, volunteer fire brigades and utility personnel were deployed to assist in firefighting, medical standby, crowd control and power isolation.
Responding units included the BFP-ICFS, Iloilo City Police Office, Iloilo City Emergency Responders (ICER-EMS), Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), Philippine Red Cross, Iloilo Citizens Action Group (ICAG), FedFire, KONSI, PEGASUS, UNICORN, Advent and MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power).
Following the incident, the BFP urged residents to remain vigilant and inspect their electrical appliances and outlets before leaving their homes unattended, particularly amid prevailing hot weather conditions./PN