A wing van owned by a bus company caught fire while carrying air conditioning units and vehicle parts on a steep highway in Brgy. Oringao, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday afternoon, July 23.
But quick action from residents and a nearby construction crew helped prevent the situation from worsening.
Fire Officer 1 Jesrel Jersalia, fire investigator of the Bureau of Fire Protection–Kabankalan, said that based on their initial investigation, the fire may have originated from the vehicle’s damaged muffler as it strained to climb the uphill portion of the road.
Local residents rushed to the scene with buckets of water, while a water truck assigned to a nearby road construction project happened to be passing by.
Construction workers immediately joined the effort, using the truck’s water supply to help douse the flames and stop the fire from spreading.
“This fast response from the community and the crew on site really helped contain the fire early,” Jersalia said, adding that no injuries were recorded in the incident.
The fire was eventually extinguished, but it caused an estimated P50,000 in damages.
Authorities are still verifying the full extent of the losses, as the owner of the wing van has yet to submit a list of the damaged equipment.*