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DAVAO City – A few minutes after residents welcomed the New Year on Jan. 1, fire gutted at least 50 houses in Barangay Wilfredo Aquino in the sub-district of Agdao.
Locals were in the middle of merrymaking when the fire broke out, according to Barangay Captain Leo Aquino.
No one was reported killed or injured.
The blaze started at around 12:15 a.m. in Jereza Subdivision on corner Lakatan-Marang streets, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said.
At the time, “the residents were enjoying their respective parties,” Aquino said. “According to my purok leader, Neneng Guerra, the fire started at the second floor of one of the houses there.”
Made of light materials, the houses easily burned even with the prompt response of firefighters.
“Firefighters responded 10 minutes after the call but the fire spread fast,” the barangay captain said.
They declared the situation “under control” at around 1:02 a.m.
Initial investigation showed the fire originated from the second floor of the house of one Flora Rodriguez, said Chief Inspector Joycelyn Grant, BFP Davao City officer-in-charge.
A witness, Lauro Lim, saw Rodriguez’s house in flames while people were out on the streets to welcome the New Year, Grant said.
Investigators have yet to determine the cause.
“We will press charges once we have identified whoever must be held accountable,” Grant said.
METRO MANILA FIRES
In Manila, a man died while several others sustained minor injuries in separate fires during New Year’s Eve revelries.
Elmer Lañora died of suffocation after he was trapped in his house during a blaze in Katarungan Village, Pasig City, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said in a statement released on Jan. 1.
Neighbors tried to rescue Lañora but the door of the house he was renting was locked, the BFP said. Aside from Lañora’s house, 14 others were damaged.
Another fire was reported in a commercial area in Sangandaan, Barangay 74 in Caloocan City. A lump of telephone wires that caught fire started the blaze. No casualty or injury was reported.
Fire also struck the quarters of construction workers in Novaliches, Quezon City.
Authorities were into fireworks as possible cause of the blaze. (PNA and Adrian Stewart Co/PN)
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