BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
Fire destroyed five houses and damaged four others in Purok Kabuhi, Brgy. 10, Bacolod City at about 6 a.m. Wednesday, that left 36 individuals homeless.
The Bacolod Bureau of Fire Protection placed the initial damage at P150,000.
Initial investigation conducted by Fire Officer 3 Stewart Mondido showed that the blaze was triggered by an unattended lighted candle at the residence of Janet Belayo Solano.
Since the houses were made of light materials and close to each other, the fire spread easily and destroyed the houses of Lilybeth, Audie, Danny, and Gina, all surnamed Demapanag, the BFP investigation also showed.
The fire also damaged the houses of Jude Dela Cruz, Kenneth Esparar, Rosie Galves, and Betty Demantano.
The fire reached third alarm status and was put out at about 7 a.m. with no reported casualty or injury.
The Department of Social Services and Development assisted the fire victims, who are seeking temporary shelter at the barangay gymnasium. The DSSD also said it recorded 10 houses destroyed and six others damaged, based on their data gathering.*
