DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/18 April) — The City Social Services and Development Office will release some P3 million worth of assistance to families displaced by a massive fire on Friday afternoon.
The fire hit three puroks in Bankerohan, Davao City.
Speaking in Monday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City, CSSDO assistant head Liwayway Caligdong said the assistance will be handed to fire victims upon the completion of the assessment report by the Bureau of Fire Protection-11 within the week.
She said the office has extended food, cooking materials, and bedding to the victims, and psychological intervention for those who were traumatized.
Community cooking was being undertaken to feed the affected families, she said.
Caligdong said 396 families and 65 boarders were reportedly affected but a re-validation will still be taken, as there were victims who lived in the shanties and the stalls in Purok 3, Purok 4-A, and Purok 5.
Most of the victims are staying at their neighbors’ or relatives’ houses in the city, sidewalks. Others built makeshift houses using materials salvaged from the fire, she said.
She added that according to the initial assessment conducted by the BFP-11 the fire totally damaged 229 houses and partially damaged eight others.
The agency already released P4 million in assistance to families affected by two major fires in Purok 13-B, Kasilak Riverside, and St. John Village in Bucana in March.
From January to February 2016, the BFP-11 recorded 207 fire incidents in Davao Region,
One hundred twenty-nine fire incidents occurred during the same period last year.
During Friday’s press conference at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, BFP-11 spokesperson Nestor Jimenez asked the public to be mindful when using candles or smoking cigarettes to prevent fire incidents. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
