BACOLOD City Nine houses were turned to ashes while two others were damaged in a fire that it a residential area at Purok Paghidaet in Barangay Tangub here Saturday morning.
Fire Chief Inspector Publio Ploteña, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Bacolod Fire Marshall, said an unattended candle at the house owned by Luz Galapin caused the fire.
Ploteña said the occupants of the house were asleep when the fire started, although they all managed to escape unharmed.
He said fighting the blaze was difficult as the incident started in the interior part of the residential area and their fire trucks were not able move in as the roadway was narrow and blocked by several trucks.
Several of the fire trucks that were supposed to respond in the area were instead used to re-supply water to fire trucks that reached the fire scene.
Ploteña said the fire gobbled P150,000 worth of property.
Barangay Tangub Captain Noli Villarosa said financial assistance will be given to the affected residents while the homeless will be temporarily sheltered at the multi-purpose gymnasium of the barangay.
Villarosa said he hopes that the fire would be a lesson to the local residents to always keep their roads clear in order not to hamper rescue operations.
The Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD), meanwhile, will hand P10,000 to those whose homes were destroyed, while P5,000 will be given to those who have damaged houses.
Although the BFP said nine houses were gutted, the DSSD counted only seven.
