By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

A total of 10 houses were destroyed and four were damaged following a blaze in a slum area of Purok Kitahanon in Bacolod City’s Barangay Banago on Thursday night, November 24.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said the fire started shortly before 7:00 p.m. at the house of a certain Jerry Villamor.

The fire quickly spread among the houses as most of them were made of light materials and further enhanced by strong winds.

Stephen Borromeo, a resident in the area, told Watchmen Daily Journal that he saw the blaze as he was fishing in his boat offshore.

He immediately raced back towards the shoreline and found his house already ablaze.

The fire reached the second alarm status, which required more than eight fire trucks to respond to the blaze.

A fire out was finally declared before 8:00 p.m.

No one was seriously hurt, but damage was estimated at around P75,000.

Some small fishing boats were also gutted in the blaze.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Services and Development in Bacolod said 10 families — comprising 32 individuals — were affected.

Currently, the affected families are taking shelter at the nearby Purok Mahimulaton Multi-Purpose Building.

BFP-Bacolod are still investigating the cause of the blaze, but some affected families told Watchmen Daily Journal that the fire may have been caused by an unattended candle./DGB, WDJ