By Anthony Giron
BACOOR CITY, Cavite --- Some three hundred forty-eight families were rendered homeless on Wednesday night (June 20) in a five-hour fire that gutted down rows of houses in coastal Barangay Maliksi I-III here.
It was second big fire that struck Maliksi village in 14 months.
The Bacoor fire and police departments said that no casualty was reported in the fire that razed the shanties in the area from 6:45 p.m. to 11:30 p.m Wednesday.
Firefighters had difficulty putting off the fire due to the small alleys in the area.
City police investigator PO2 Francis Mark Cortez reported that the fire reached fourth alarm.
The authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fire that burned down some 300 houses in the area. Cortez estimated the fire damage cost at P1.5 million.
City Mayor Lani Mercado-Revilla said that the fire victims, numbering 1,725, individuals, would stay temporarily at Maliksi Elementary School compound.
The City Social Welfare and Development and other concerned groups provided food, water, blankets and mats for the victims.
Authorities reported that in April 2017, some 475 families or 2,153 individuals lost their homes in a five-hour afternoon fire that razed 600 houses in Barangay Maliksi III.