ILOILO City – Three of the four recent successive fire incidents in this southern city were caused by faulty electrical wiring.
According to Bureau of Fire Protection – Iloilo City fire marshal, Fire Chief Inspector Vencie Jojo Aldeguer, short circuit, overloaded plugs and unattended cooking caused the fires.
From Dec. 24 to 26, fire incidents transpired in barangays Calumpang and San Juan in Molo district, Barangay Bonifacio in Arevalo district, and Barangay Veterans Village in City Proper.
Citing their investigation, Aldeguer said an old/outdated electric fan, octopus wiring and Christmas lights that probably got wet were the causes of the recent fires.
With this, the city fire marshal stressed the importance of maintaining electrical connection at home.
“Kun pwede lang every 10 years magpa-rehab kita sa aton wiring kon may budget man lang,” said Aldeguer.
However, he admitted that it is a challenge especially in areas where most of the residents are informal settlers.
“Kinanglan gid nga maghalong especially kon ang ila balay made of light materials,” added Aldeguer.
In all four barangays that fire struck, a total of 110 families composed of 344 individuals were affected.
Meanwhile, 37 houses have been totally damaged while nine were partially damaged.
Barangay Calumpang had the most number of totally damaged houses at 18 and one partially damaged, followed by Barangay Veterans Village with 13 totally damaged and six partially damaged houses while in San Juan, five and two houses were totally and partially damaged, respectively, and only one house was totally damaged in Barangay Bonifacio.
The city government through the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) as well as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 6 have extended assistance to the affected families./PN
