BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
A fire of still unknown origin that engulfed a residential area in Purok Riverside Zone 2 in Brgy. Bata, Bacolod City yesterday, destroyed 10 houses and damaged two others.
Chief Inspector Rodel Legaspi, Bacolod fire marshal, said they received a fire call from a certain Julian Magtulac past 10 a.m. and immediately dispatched teams to the area.
Legaspi said they had a hard time putting the fire out as the pathway was narrow and the houses were mostly made of light materials.
He said they were able to contain the blaze at about 11:16 a.m. while a fire out was declared about 15 minutes later.
Legaspi also said that they are still trying to investigate the cause of the fire but they were able to establish that it started in the house of Ivy Zulueta.
No one was hurt during the fire but it destroyed P200,000 worth of properties, the BFP reported.
The City Social Welfare and Development Office records show that the fire affected 17 families, seven of them beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
Bata Brgy. Captain Angelito Abaring said the affected residents are temporarily staying at the barangay gymnasium while rice and food packs have been given to them.*