The blaze started from a house being rented on Bautista Street by a man who was identified as Ronald Dubluis. The fire started a few minutes past 2am, and it reached the second alarm. Thankfully, a fire out was declared by 3:17 am.
Dubluis said that the fire might possibly have been intentional. He shares, "Bigla na lang may tumama na parang bote. Pagkabasag ng bote, nagkaroon na agad ng apoy. Akala namin magnanakaw."
Another victim, Alberto Rodriguez, was disappointed over the slow response from the firefighters. He shares, "Ang unang bumberong nagresponde, 20 minutes! Kami ba nasa looban? Wala naman, nasa tabing kalsada kami, accessible kami. Bakit ganyan? Sabi sira raw ang truck!"
Their fire truck broke down in 2015
However, Panghuli Fire Substation Commander Insp. Efren Calumag said that when they received the call, they immediately notified the Central Fire Station who were the ones to respond. He added that they had a lot of difficulty finding parts for their 20-year old firetruck that broke down back in 2015.
The firefighters also had to break the glass door of the nearby Adventist Church in order to put out the fire.
The church's caretaker shares, "Meron akong kasama. Natutulog ako tapos biglang sumigaw, ‘Brother Jun, may sunog sa kabila!’ Kaya ayun, nagising kami, binuksan ko lahat ‘yung mga pinto para sakali man ay makapasok ‘yung mga bumbero."
Thankfully, no one was hurt during the incident. The cost of damage has been pegged at 200,000 pesos.
Currently, firefighters are still trying to find the exact cause of the fire.
Fire prevention tips
While we really stop accidents from happening, we can at least take some steps and precautions that would help us prevent a fire from happening.
- Always be careful when cooking. Never leave your cooking unattended, and make sure to turn off the burner as well as the main gas supply whenever you're not using it to avoid any accidents.
- Don't smoke at home. If possible, avoid smoking at home. In fact, it's best to stop smoking in general since the diseases involved with smoking are very dangerous.
- Check electrical wirings every so often. Faulty electrical wirings are a common cause of house fires. Make sure to let an electrician inspect them every so often, especially if you live in an older home.
- Make sure that candles are not left unattended. Candles can be very dangerous if left to burn out. Make sure that if you're using candles, that they are well away from anything flammable, and that you always keep an eye on them.
- Keep children well away from open flames. Kids and open flames don't mix, so if you're cooking, have candles, or any source of open flame, it's best to keep children well away since they might not only hurt themselves, but they might also start playing with the fire and cause an accident.
Source: gmanetwork.com, hanoverfire.com
READ: Tragic fire claims lives of 6 siblings; mom of 9 critical
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