A fire of still unknown origin razed a house yesterday afternoon in Purok 5, Barangay Bantayan in Dumaguete City, and damaged about P250,000 in property and personal belongings.

Dumaguete City fire marshal Arnulfo Sayson said they received the call at 2:20 p.m. and fire trucks and firefighters were immediately deployed to the area but when they arrived, the house, that was made of light materials, was already engulfed by flames.

No one was injured since the couple who owned it was at work and their two children were in school.

Firefighters put the fire under control before it could cross to the next house, Sayson said. Four trucks of the Dumaguete Fire Station and the water tanker of Rescue 348 were deployed to the fire scene, he added.

Owner Lucios Fontanosa, a pedicab driver, said that, according to his neighbors, the house suddenly went up in flames, and he has no idea what could have caused it.

He said they had stopped using LPG for cooking and had switched to firewood about three months ago already. He added that they always make sure electrical appliances are unplugged and the fire in the stove put out before they leave their house.

Fontanosa said he and his wife, who works at Silliman University, had lunch yesterday in their house, and left before 1 p.m.

He said they lost all their belongings, including the sewing machines for his wife’s sideline job, a laptop and electrical appliances.

Sayson said they are investigating the origin of the fire.*JFP

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