BY SHIELA G. GELERA
A woman was injured while 19 houses were destroyed and four more were damaged when fire hit a slum area in Purok Sunrise, Barangay Taculing in Bacolod City, at about 1:32 p.m. yesterday.
The fire that started in the house of Ruel Tordillas, 40, and spread to nearby houses, mostly made of light materials and situated close to each other, lasted about an hour, Fire Chief Insp. Publio Ploteña, Bacolod fire marshal, said.
Joanne Tordillas, 38, who tried to salvage some of their belongings, sustained burns.
Initial investigation of the Bacolod Bureau of Fire Protection showed that the fire, of still undetermined cause, gutted properties worth around P300,000, Ploteña said.
The fire reached second alarm and was put out at about 2:17 p.m. yesterday.
Taculing Barangay Captain Lady Gless Gonzales-Pallen said last night that 31 families were affected by the fire.
Some of the fire victims temporarily took shelter in the houses of their neighbors and relatives, while others stayed at the evacuation center at the Gonzaga Gym, Pallen said.
They mostly need food, utensils, beddings, and toiletries, among others, she added.*
