ILOILO City – Bureau of Fire Protection investigators were looking into “human error” as the cause of the fire that struck 71 houses in barangays Taytay Zone II and Calubihan in Jaro district on Saturday. They estimated the cost of damage at P2 million.
Forty-one houses were razed in Taytay Zone II and 23 in Calubihan, a report from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office stated, citing information from the BFP.
Six houses in Taytay Zone II and one in Calubihan were partially damaged, stated the report that the Iloilo City government’s Public Information Office furnished the press.
No one was reported killed or injured. This was the biggest fire that struck Jaro since the one in Barangay Cubay just this January and in Barangay Benedicto in November last year.
The fire started at 9:39 a.m. in the house of Isabelita Bunda in Taytay Zone II and quickly spread to the neighboring houses, City Fire Marshal Christopher Regencia said, citing initial investigation.
There was an apparent negligence on the part of the Bundas, Regencia said.
From what the fire investigators have so far gathered, the Bunda family forgot to completely put out the burning charcoal they used in cooking their food before leaving for the Department of Foreign Affairs where they planned to get their passport, said Regencia.
“Their lights were all switched off,” the city fire marshal noted.
Firefighters from the Iloilo City Fire Station put the blaze under control at around 11:03 a.m. They declared a “fire out” at 1:46 p.m.
WATCH: Fire hits Barangay Calubihan, Jaro, Iloilo City.
Posted by Panay News on Friday, August 10, 2018
While the investigation into the cause continues as of this writing, the BFP estimated the total cost of damage at P2 million.
No one died or was injured during the fire.
Forty-seven families (190 individuals) from Taytay Zone II and 24 (85 individuals) in Calubihan were affected, stated the CDRRMO report dated Aug. 11.
Eight residents experienced difficulty of breathing as they tried to salvage their valuables. The BFP’s medical team attended to them, Regencia said.
Staffers from the City Social Welfare and Development Office prepared Jaro I Elementary School as evacuation center, the CDRMMO report stated.
Twelve houses were gutted and a resident was injured during the fire in Barangay Cubay on Jan. 8 – just a week after the New Year celebrations.
The BFP estimated the cost of damage at P200,000.
The preceding fire in Barangay Benedicto on Nov. 4, 2017 was way bigger with a total of 72 houses burned – 68 destroyed and four damaged.
The cost of damage was estimated at P4 million, according to then City Fire Marshal Bartolome Biliran./PN
