A fire that hit a densely populated area in Bacolod City left about 250 residents homeless Monday night, April 26, Singcang-Airport Barangay Captain Rosinie Distrito said.
Initial figures show that 52 houses were destroyed affecting 61 families in Purok Neptune, Barangay Singcang-Airport, Distrito said.
The fire began at about 3:30 p.m. and was placed under control at about 5:30 p.m., he said.
It quickly destroyed houses made of light materials, and firefighters initially had a hard time entering narrow pathways to put out the blaze, Distrito said.
Some residents were seen rescuing their pigs from the fire.
A loud blast was heard from a house in the purok where the fire may have started but the matter is still under investigation, he said.
A few residents suffered slight injuries, he said.
The fire victims are temporarily being housed in tents at the JR Torres Elementary School gymn.
Distrito appealed to the public to provide ready to eat food and assistance to the fire victims, who not only lost their homes but practically everything they own.
Chief Inspector Rodel Legaspi, Bacolod fire chief, said their initial estimate showed that 25 houses were destroyed but they still have to reconcile their figure with that of the barangay officials.
The houses were built close to each other so it was difficult to immediately come up with a final figure on how many were destroyed, he said.
They have initial information on the cause of the fire but it is still subject for verification, Legaspi said.
There were no casualties during the fire, he said.*