ZAMBOANGA CITY—Hundreds of families were displaced while five people were injured by a four-hour fire that hit a slum area late Tuesday in this city.
Chief Insp. Clint Cha, local fire marshal, said the fire that broke out around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Barangay Sta. Catalina razed about 600 houses mostly made up of light materials and closely built from each other.
Cha said a general alarm has been raised on the blaze that has hit houses in Marietta Drive and spreading through other areas.
“We can’t sustain suppression because the tankers cannot go inside due to narrow roads,” Cha said.
Water tankers from the city government, Zamboanga City Water District and business establishments have provided water to the fire fighters at the height of the conflagration.
Cha placed the worth of damaged properties at P4.5 million.
He said they have yet to ascertain the cause of the fire although “there are allegations but we have to validate it.”
The fire fighters have managed to contain the fire and declared fire out at 10:45 p.m.
Dr. Rodelin Agbulos, city health officer, said the injured victims were taken to the hospital.
The City Social Welfare and Development Office and the Housing and Land Management Division have yet to determine the exact number of displaced families.