46 families homeless as fire hits Carmen

By NITZ ARANCON
and JOEY NACALABAN
Correspondents .

AT least 46 families were left homeless by a fire that broke out in a Barangay Carmen slum, this city, yesterday morning. The community is near the house of Rep. Rolando Uy of the city’s 1st District.

There was a second morning fire that damaged a two-door apartment in Barangay Nazareth.

Senior Fire Officer 3 Imelda Barazan said a fireman and a Carmen resident were hurt in the fire that spread from one house to another  on Gumamela Street Extension in Zone 6, Carmen. Injured were Fire Officer 2 Vincent Biscos and Ronie Peleño, a Gumamela Street resident.

Baraza said the Carmen fire destroyed 29 houses that were mostly made of combustible materials.

Other than Biscos and Peleño, no one was reported hurt but at least 200 Carmen residents were left homeless as a result of the fire that broke out at around 6:40 am.

It took fire fighters some 50 minutes or from 7:45 am to 8:35 am to declare a “fire out.”

Initial investigation showed the fire started at the upper level of the house of one Monica Sevilla.

Sevilla’s niece, Juanita Bahian, said the fire started inside her room but she could not say how it started.

Bahian said the fire broke out when she was bringing her grandchild to the West City Elementary School.

“Tapot lawas ra gyud among nadala kay wala man ko sa balay pagsunog sa kalayo kay didto man ko sa eskuwelahan naghatud sa akong apo,” she said.

Carmen fire station chief Fire Officer 3 Samson Vilarde confirmed that the fire originated from Sevilla’s house.

Investigators, he said, were still determining the cause of the morning fire.

Vilarde said firefighters had difficulties in reaching the area because of the narrow road and vehicular congestion.

Many of the fire victims trooped to the nearby Carmen Coliseum which has been turned into an evacuation center.

City hall’s social welfare office placed at structural damages alone at P8.6 million, a far cry from the Bureau of Fire and Protection’s P500-thousand estimate.

Firefighters found their hands full yesterday morning. After Carmen, another fire struck at 6th and 19th streets in Nazareth.

Barazan said the fire hit a two-door apartment owned by Hermeño Salon.

Initial investigation said it started at the upper level of the apartment building’s 2nd door that was occupied by Laurence Go.

Barazan said there was no casualty report in the fire that started at around 8:50 am and was placed under control 13 minutes later. She placed the damages at some P200 thousand.

Investigators have continued to gather clues and data at the Nazareth and Carmen fire scenes at presstime.