Butuan fire razes two barangays; one dead, 900 homeless

BUTUAN CITY - Barely a week after a conflagration razed 100 houses in Barangay New Society, another big fire consumed two urban barangays — San Ignacio and Ong Yiu — in this city, leaving nearly 900 people homeless, hurting three, and killing one. The fire wiped out an estimated 130 houses in Barangay Ong Yiu, leaving 600 without homes, Barangay Captain Nelly Leyson told GMANews.TV. Leyson claimed seven puroks (neighborhoods) in her barangays were greatly affected by the fire that started past 1 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon which is located near the heart or commercial center of Butuan City inhabited mostly by a community of Muslim brothers and sisters. A concrete Mosque was partially damaged by the fire. The scorching heat contributed to conflagration after firefighters from as far as municipalities of Nasipit, Buenavista and Kitcharao, including fire volunteers from some of the city’s commercial establishments, tried to save houses, properties, and lives. A still unidentified sickly person died of suffocation after the victim was unable to walk to escape from the fire. Three other persons were reportedly hurt. “I received reports although we still have to verify that after a shabu raid occurred in the house of certain Tito Muslim, witnesses allegedly saw somebody threw a torch bottle full of gasoline that caused the fire to spread so swiftly," Leyson added. In the meantime, Butuan City Fire Marshall Patricio Vasquez told GMANews.TV in a separate interview that the city is looking at the arson angle. “Witnesses have reportedly claimed a torch bottle full of gasoline was allegedly threw at houses near a house where police shabu raid was conducted," Vasquez said. He added that the city is still assessing fire damages, including the official number of persons rendered homeless as well as the exact number of houses razed. "The number of our estimated fire victims including houses burned may increase considering many boarders mostly students are living in the area," Vasquez said, adding that the city is still investigating the cause of the fire. “The March 7 big fire that razed down 100 houses in Barangay New Society was the second biggest this one is so far the biggest because it razed down houses of two urban barangays Ong Yiu and San Ignacio," Vasquez added. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV