Fire hits PC Hill residential area, destroys 12 houses, car

COTABATO CITY - At least 12 houses were destroyed in a conflagration that hit residential areas in PC Hill area, Barangay Rosary Heights 1, Cotabato City Tuesday, fire officials said.The fire started at about 2:20 a.m. following heavy down pour, Fire Inspector James Ra, speaking for the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), said.Ra said 12 houses were affected, 10 were razed to the ground with an estimated cost of damage of P1 million. The fire was contained in an hour, Ra told DXMS Radyo Bida . We have difficulty reaching the fire scene because of narrow road, vehicles parked made the road narrower, he said.Quoting witnesses, Ra said the fire allegedly started from an electric post after it sparked and ran toward a store beside it.Aling Teresita, owner of a store beside an electric post, said the fire quickly spread. I save nothing, she said. I managed to pull out my TV set and left it at a roadside but someone took it, she said.Rosary Heights 1 chairperson Nelson Morales said the affected families could reach more than 12 since one household has two or more family-boarders. We are still determining the number of families affected, he said. Morales said the fire fighters arrived quickly but could hardly penetrate the fire site due to narrow road.A Toyota Vios parked nearby was also razed.It was the second fire incident in a crowded residential area of PC Hill. Last year, a fire of still unknown origin gutted down at least seven houses.