The Bureau of Fire Protection in Dumaguete City will inventory boarding houses after a fire razed two houses at around 3 a.m. yesterday where two students were injured.

Chief Insp. Arnulfo Sayson, Dumaguete fire marshal, said houses that have been turned into boarding houses but have not acquired a mayor’s permit and a fire safety inspection certificate, among other requirements must be inspected.

Initial investigation by the City Fire Department showed that the fire of still unknown cause, started at the two-storey house owned by Evelyn Taganile at the national highway near the provincial Capitol in Dumaguete, and spread to another two-storey house owned by Cipriano Villaflores.

Sayson said students Rosemay Buscato and Joshua Ablao, both of the Negros Oriental State University, were rushed to the hospital with second and first degree burns, respectively.

The two said they and five other students, who were away at the time of the fire incident, are boarders of Taganile. The 13 students, who are boarding in Villaflores’s home, were not injured, he added.

He said the two injured students said there was no fire exit in the house.

The Dumaguete Fire Station deployed four fire trucks, assisted by firemen of Sibulan and Bacong towns, and the super water tanker of the Dumaguete City government.

The fire was contained at around 3:45 a.m. and firefighters declared a fire out at 5 a.m.

Sayson said firemen had a hard time penetrating the fire scene because of the narrow passage and had to connect seven water hoses to reach the houses on fire.

Sayson added that he believes that both homes do not have a mayor’s permit to operate as boarding houses, but he will verify this.

He also said there are many boarding houses in Dumaguete operating without a license. During the renewal or application of new building permits, the Fire Department conducts an inspection of the private or commercial establishment before the fire safety inspection certificate is issued, he said.

The Fire Department said that based on the inspection held by the BFP last June in line with the “Balik Eskwela” program, 94 boarding houses have complied with the requirements for a business permit.*JFP

back to top