By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – An early morning blaze gutted more than 50 houses at Purok Gumamela, Barangay Calindagan, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental on Tuesday.
Senior Fire Officer 3 (SFO3) Edwin Nazareno, chief of operations of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), said the fire broke out around 2:20 a.m. and immediately spread to other houses made of light materials.
Nazareno said they initially had difficulty penetrating the area because of its narrow terrain but responders were able to put out the fire after two hours.
No injuries were reported.
Nazareno said they have yet to determine the cause of fire as investigation is ongoing.
He, however, said that a couple was brought to the police station, following reports that they allegedly caused the blaze when they had an argument early that day.
“We cannot yet tell the specific cause of fire or how did it happened. We cannot even say that they are indeed the suspects behind the blaze until we finished our investigation,” Nazareno said.
Initially, the BFP reported that an estimated P300,000 worth of properties went up in smoke.
Meanwhile, the affected families are now temporarily sheltered at Dumaguete City High School and the village’s gymnasium.
