By: Jennifer P. Rendon
AROUND 200 houses were gutted by a fire that hit a densely populated area at Boracay Island’s Station 3 in Malay, Aklan.
Fire Inspector Mary Angelie Bolocon, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Region 6 spokesperson, said investigators are still determining the exact number of structures that were razed by the fire that broke out around 8:45 a.m. of Oct. 24, 2019.
BFP-Boracay Station and other fire volunteers responded but had difficulty penetrating the area because of its distance from the main road of Sitio Ambulong in Barangay Manoc-Manoc.
Strong winds fanned the fire which quickly spread among houses that were mostly made of light materials.
The fire was declared under control 10:30 a.m. and was totally quelled at 11:51 a.m.
Initial report indicated that 142 families were affected and rendered 171 workers homeless.
In the meantime, some affected residents and workers took shelter in the village’s gymnasium.
Bolocon said fire investigators pegged the damage to property at P20 million.
It appeared that an unattended cooking stove might have caused the fire.
Before Thursday’s conflagration, the last fire incident in Boracay happened Oct 10 at Barangay Balabag. It burned down 25 houses with 25 families affected.
