CEBU CITY – Firefighters in this city are busy this month.

The Cebu City Fire Office (CCFO) recorded 16 fire incidents with damage to property pegged at P80 million as of June 20.

SFO2 Wendell Villanueva, CCFO spokesperson, said the biggest fire to hit the city this month razed a commercial establishment at the South Road Properties where property damage was pegged at P48 million.

Barangays San Roque and Punta Princesa were also hit by big fires. The fire in San Roque destroyed P24.5-million worth of property while the damage in Punta Princesa totaled P16.5 million.

A big fire also broke out in Barangay Basak San Nicolas where damage was pegged at P11 million.

“These fires took place in commercial and residential areas. As to the causes of fires, we are still investigating but there could be various causes,” said Villanueva.

Villanueva said the common cause of fire incidents may involve electrical misuse. “It might be overloading, the so-called octopus connection, and defective wirings. We are looking at several possibilities that may have caused these fires,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva it is understandable that there have been more fire incidents recorded this month compared to the same period last year. “Last year, people were just at home most of the time because of the lockdowns,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva said the hot weather that the country is experiencing may have also contributed to the increasing number of fires.

He advised the public to take care to prevent fires.

“We really have to be vigilant to prevent fires and in the process prevent the loss of lives and property,” Villanueva said.