ILOILO City – Sixty-four-year-old Rodulfo Buenavista of Zone 1-A Barangay Boulevard, Molo district went out of his house on Monday night to buy something from a store.
Minutes after as he was walking back home he saw his house already burning from a distance.
“I failed to save anything from my house. I lost everything. What I have on right now is the only clothes I have left. I even lost my slippers,” said Buenavista.
Fire struck the barangay past 7 p.m. on Monday and spread quickly to the adjacent village of West Habog-habog. Most of the houses burned were made of light materials.
The Bureau of Fire Protection estimated the property damage to have reached P1.2 million. Thirty-eight houses were gutted – 34 totally razed and four partially damaged.
Survivor Sunny Santia, a 45-year-old sari-sari store owner, was in his house making ice candy when he heard neighbors shouting, “Sunog! Sunog!”
He rushed to the door and opened it. Nearby houses were already in flames.
“I hurriedly took anything I could and ran out of the house. I panicked,” said Santia.
He managed to save his television set and a pair of shorts.
Santia’s home was eight houses away from where the fire started (Buenavista’s house), he told Panay News.
“Responding firemen found it difficult to penetrate our neighborhood. The road was constricted and the temperature was searing,” said Santia.
In Zone 1-A Barangay Boulevard 32 houses were totally gutted and two partially damaged. In Barangay West Habog-Habog two houses were completely razed while two others sustained damage.
As of this writing the investigation was ongoing but according to City Fire Marshal Christopher Regencia, the fire could be “electrical in nature.”
“Nakita namin sa area may nagkaputol-putol na kuryente. Posible na nagkaroon nga spark at doon nagsimula ang apoy,” said Regencia.
According to the official, there was no one at Buenavista’s house when the fire started.
“So hindi agad nagawan ng paraan,” said Regencia.
One of the fire survivors was 69-year-old retired teacher of Baluarte Elementary School, Azucena Ebro. Her house, however, was totally destroyed.
“I was in the kitchen preparing supper when I heard people shouting. I looked out of the window and saw the fire. For a moment I froze and started praying,” Ebro told Panay News.
The she remembered some important documents she could easily save.
“But I took the wrong bag. I was already panicking. I ran out of the house barefoot,” said Ebro.
Firefighters were able to put the fire under control around 9:15 p.m. and declared a fire out by 10:19 p.m.
All city fire units responded the fire scene and fire trucks from the municipality of Oton, Pavia, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and Zarraga also helped.
“Responding to the fire was a challenge. The area only had one entry and exit point. Thick smoke also slowed down our men.
There were no fire casualties but one man sustained cuts and bruises. Angelo Cordero was brought to the Western Visayas Medical Center in Mandurraio district.
Fire victims temporarily stayed at the covered gym of Barangay Boulevar./PN
