ILOILO City – A day before the observance of the Fire Prevention Month wrapped up, fire hit a neighborhood in Zone 12, Barangay Calaparan, Arevalo district.
Thirty houses were totally damaged while six were partially burned on Saturday night, March 30.
Ten people, two of whom were fire brigade volunteers, were also injured in the blaze, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
The fire started around 8:24 p.m. at the house of Enrique Lacson being maintained by a certain Totong Yturriaga, initial investigation showed.
According to Senior Fire Officer 3 Aqulino Sampiano, a curtain caught fire from an unattended lighted candle.
Prior to the fire, there was a power interruption in the area.
Most of the razed houses were made of light materials. Property damage reached P750,000.
“Firefighters had difficulty getting to the fire scene. The road in that thickly populated area was narrow,” said Sampiano.
This fire brought to 66 the number of fire incidences that happened in March.
The most common cause of these fire cases were human negligence “lalo na sa koryente,” lamented Superintendent Crosbee Gumowang, assistant director for operations of BFP Region 6.
“Tapos po ‘yong iba sigarilyo po ang dahilan,” added Gumowang.
Damage to property caused by these fires reached P1.5 million, said Gumawang.
“Most of the fires were grassfires. This explains the not so high value of property damage,” he clarified.
Other cause of the fires was illegal electrical connections, said Gumawang, prevalent in Iloilo City./PN
