By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – Thirteen houses and a storage room were razed by a fire that allegedly stemmed from an unattended cooking area at Purok Kitahanon, Barangay Banago here last Thursday.
Chief Inspector Rodel Legaspi, city fire marshal, said the fire broke out around 6:54 p.m. from the house of Jerry Villamor, which is situated in the middle of the purok near the sea.
The fire immediately spread to neighboring houses mostly made of light materials.
Legaspi said that Villamor was cooking at that time using a wood stove and then probably left and failed to give proper attention to it.
“Ara bi sa higad baybay so mahangin, wala niya siguro ma secure, nabayaan niya iya linuto,” he added.
Nine houses and a storage room of fishing materials were destroyed, while four other houses were damaged, Legaspi said.
The fire was raised to second alarm as firefighters had difficulty penetrating the area because of the narrow alleys.
The blaze gobbled an estimated P75,000 worth of properties. Fire-out was declared around 7:49 p.m. No injuries were reported.
Legaspi said that nine families composed of 28 persons were affected and are temporarily staying at the barangay’s evacuation center.
Meanwhile, the city government immediately provided basic necessities for the fire victims as Mayor Benitez visited them that night.
