A FIRE reached a second alarm in Barangay Buhangin on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 13, completely destroying 12 houses and partially damaging two others, displacing 20 families or 60 individuals.
The incident occurred at Purok San Nicholas, corner Snow White, Barangay Buhangin, with authorities reporting the fire started at 1:37 p.m.
According to the Davao City Fire District (DCFD), firefighters struggled with the narrow pathways in the densely populated residential area, which extended the time needed to fully extinguish the blaze.
The fire was declared under control at 3 p.m. and was finally declared a fire-out at 4:27 p.m.
No injuries or fatalities were reported.
“As of now, the cause of the fire is still under investigation,” Fire Senior Inspector Frances Mae Sendrijas, spokesperson for the DCFD, told TIMES on Friday.
She confirmed the extended response time was due primarily to the tightly packed houses, which made overhauling—the process of ensuring the fire does not rekindle—more difficult.
She further elaborated on the access problems: “The paths in the area are extremely narrow, making it difficult for our large fire trucks to penetrate the immediate location of the fire. What happened was we needed to lay out long fire hoses to reach the location, and then our larger trucks and tankers had to feed water from the main highway.”
The DCFD confirmed the final tally of damages included 12 structures totally burned and two structures partially damaged.
The 20 affected families are currently receiving assistance from the city government and disaster response units.
Meanwhile, she said the investigation into the exact cause of the fire is ongoing.
Photo courtesy of Filipino Chinese Firefighters of Davao FB page
