ILOILO City – A weekend neighborhood fire in Barangay San Pedro, Molo district totally gutted eight houses and partially damaged two others.
The fire started a little past 5 p.m. from the house of Lydia Diogenes and quickly spread to adjacent houses, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
Aside from Diogenes’s house, the seven other completely razed houses were owned by Hazel Vicente, Florita Palomo, Gloria Puyat, Emily Lansang, Editha Parreño, Hermelo Manpa, and Mater Bascilio Maghopong.
Fire investigators as of this writing have yet to identify the owners of the partially damaged houses, which were mostly made of mixed light materials.
Initial estimate of the fire’s damage reached P675,000.
It was initially believed, too, that an unattended mobile phone being charged caused the blaze. Investigation was ongoing as this was being written.
It was around 5:56 p.m. when the BFP declared a “fire out.” No casualty was reported.
The affected families temporarily sought shelter at Molo 1 Elementary School./PN
