Fire razes 29 houses in Bacolod

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — A fire razed 29 houses in Barangay 2 here on Thursday, five days after the Bureau of Fire Protection in Bacolod kicked off Fire Prevention Month on March 1.

A Bureau of Fire Protection-Bacolod report said 20 houses were totally damaged and nine others were partially damaged.

The fire broke out at 1:15 p.m. in a residential area where most houses were made of light materials.

Fire Supt. Jenny Mae Masip, the city fire marshal, raised the alert status to a second alarm three minutes later.

The blaze affected 46 families, or 90 individuals, the report said.

Fire out was declared at 1:38 p.m. and no injuries were reported.

Damage was estimated at PHP 296,250, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection-Bacolod.

The fire followed a blaze in Barangay 39 here on Feb. 27 that displaced 177 families, or 765 individuals.

In a separate incident, a fishing vessel was partially damaged in Barangay Zone 6, Cadiz City, on March 3, the Bureau of Fire Protection-Cadiz said.

The bureau said the vessel was docked when the fire broke out that night.

Arson investigators are probing the cause of the two fires.

Fire Prevention Month is observed every March to promote fire safety awareness and prevention, with the Bureau of Fire Protection typically stepping up inspections and information campaigns during the period.