Fire razes 16 houses in Murcia

Firefighters respond to a residential fire in Barangay Zone 1, Murcia, Negros Occidental Friday. (Photo courtesy of Chamber Volunteer Fire Brigade)

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Sixteen houses were razed by a fire in Barangay Zone 1, Murcia, Negros Occidental yesterday.

Fire Officer 3 Rona Magdaluyo, chief intelligence and investigation section of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Murcia, said that 12 houses were destroyed while four others were damaged.

Magdaluyo said the fire broke out from the house of a certain Nestor Diaz around 7:10 a.m.

A fireman used a fire extinguisher first as he tried to put out the fire inside Diaz’s house, but the blaze grew bigger since the houses are made of light materials, she added.

Magdaluyo said that they immediately responded to the incident, which occurred in front of the fire station.

She clarified that there was a slight delay in the firefighting operation as water from the two fire trucks was consumed for about five to seven minutes due to the heavy pressure in the water hose.

Magdaluyo said that five fire trucks from other fire stations and volunteers also augmented. Fire out was declared after an hour.

The blazed gobbled an estimated P100,000 worth of properties. No injuries were reported.

Arson investigators have yet to determine the cause of fire.