CROWDED. Fire-hit residents of Purok Saeg, Barangay Calumpang in General Santos City stay on Thursday morning (Nov. 4, 2021) at a barangay gymnasium that was converted into an evacuation site. Some 470 households with 699 dependents were documented to have been affected by a huge fire in three of the area’s four residential zones on Wednesday afternoon. (PNA photo by Richelyn Gubalani)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Officials have placed a coastal village here under state of calamity following a huge fire on Wednesday afternoon that displaced at least 1,169 residents.
Ryan Dupalco, chairman of Barangay Calumpang, said they issued the calamity declaration in an emergency session on Thursday to facilitate the release of their calamity funds to augment the relief operations for the residents.
Citing a report from the City Social Welfare and Development Office, he said some 470 families with 699 dependents were documented as of noon Thursday to have lost their homes and valuables in the nearly four-hour blaze that hit portions of Purok Saeg, Calumpang.
“That is a partial list. We still expect the numbers to increase since the intake of the affected residents is still ongoing,” Dupalco told reporters.
He said most of the evacuees are staying at the barangay gymnasium while the others were accommodated at the Holy Cross parish gymnasium, Purok Bayanihan gymnasium, and the barangay day center.
He said they initially provided prepared meals to the affected families while the city government and several private groups distributed various relief goods.
The official said they are coordinating with the Department of Education for the temporary use of a nearby public school to host some of the displaced residents.
The move, which was recommended by the City Health Office, is to prevent overcrowding in the evacuation sites and a possible outbreak of Covid-19, he said.
The city government estimated that more than 200 houses, mostly made of light materials, were gutted down by the fire, which erupted past 1 p.m. and rapidly spread to three of the area’s four residential zones.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) declared it as under control around 4 p.m. but the clearing operations continued in portions of the four-hectare site until Wednesday night.
There were no casualties reported in the incident but three residents were reported to have suffered minor burn injuries.
Dupalco said they received a report that the fire allegedly started from an unattended butane-fired cooking stove in one of the houses at the site.
He said the blaze spread quite fast after it reached the stored gasoline and crude oil that residents use for their fishing boats.
Senior Fire Officer 3 Allan Rey Emperio, chief investigator of the BFP station here, said in an interview they are still investigating the cause or origin of the fire.
He said they have gathered initial accounts from residents and possible pieces of evidence that could help speed up their probe.
“We are looking into several angles but these are still subject to validation,” he said. (with a report from Allen V. Estabillo/PNA)
