Poor access way, congestion caused the fire to spread swiftly
Iloilo City -- Firefighters had difficulty penetrating the fire scene in Brgy. North Baluarte last Monday due to poor access way.
City Fire Marshall Chief Insp. Nilo Pacifico said the fire broke right in the center of the congested houses which is why it spread swiftly.
Firetrucks had to park beside the road as the only access way to the fire scene is a footwalk made of bamboo.
Pacifico said, the light materials of which the houses were made of contributed to the speedy transfer of fire from one house to another.
Last Monday's fire was the biggest fire incident recorded by the bureau for this year.
Pacifico said the damage was estimated to more or less P7 million.
Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) records show 270 houses were totally burned while 17 houses were partially burned.
The data however was only part of the initial counting made by the bureau last Monday.
He said the number could still increase as they continue with their investigation.
Fortunately, no casualty due to the fire was reported.
Pacifico said their record shows that only two persons suffered minor injuries and one suffered from high blood pressure. He said Louie Bolante suffered first degree burn in his arms and feet.
Another victim, Jenny Alojado suffered punctured wound in her right foot after he stepped upon a nail. While, Anita Salvador's blood pressure soared up because of the fire. The three however were given immediate medical attention. No firefighter suffered burn injuries in last Monday's fire.
Pacifico said they received the fire call from Emmanuel Selveria at about 4:15 in the afternoon. The fire was put under control around 5:25 p.m. The mopping up operations ended at 6:30 in the evening.
He said based on their investigation the fire emanated from the house of Ma. Victoria Bustamante. Her children, who were left alone in their house that time, reportedly played with matches.
It easily spread to the nearby houses since most of the houses were made of light materials. The presence of combustible materials such as cartoons and plastics contributed to the speedy transfer of fire from one house to another.
The fire marshall said they could not yet determine the cause of the fire though they have already identified where it started.
The entire investigation in the causes of fire normally last for three months. The bureau could not yet rule out the possibility of an arson or anything in the case of the fire incident in North Baluarte. All the possibilities are being looked into by fire investigator, he said.
Pacifico added that they could have put off the fire in much shorter time if only there was easy access to the fire scene. The firetruck could not penetrate near the fire scene because they have to pass a bamboo bridge purposely made as passage way of the residents.
The fire alert was raised to third level. More than ten firetrucks and private water delivery units helped put off the fire.