ILOILO CITY – Two persons were injured while P22.5 million in property were lost in a fire that hit Boracay Island yesterday afternoon as Fire Prevention Month draws to a close.
Senior Insp. Lorna D. Parcellano, chief of the Bureau of Fire Protection in Malay, Aklan, said the fire gobbled up 60 structures in Barangay Balabag.
Parcellano said that most of the structures damaged by the fire were residential, particularly boarding houses of workers in the resort island.
According to Parcellano, the fire may have started around 1:40 p.m. but BFP-Malay received the fire call around 2 p.m. She noted that if the incident was called in earlier, the fire wouldn’t have quickly spread.
It also did not help that the strong wind also played a factor in spreading the fire while the houses were located along an uphill area, which made it harder for fire fighters to reach.
The almost two-hour fire injured barangay councilor Rey Sastre and Verjun Gregorio. Sastre suffered from first-degree burn on the left side of his face while Gregorio had a laceration on the back of his head.
BFP Malay is still investigating the cause of the incident. (Tara Yap)
