CEBU CITY, Philippines — Ten poultry workers were displaced after a fire gutted a building inside a poultry farm in Purok 4, Barangay Lunas, Asturias, on Thursday evening, November 20.
In an interview with CDN Digital on Friday, November 21, Fire Officer Jacky Colegado of the Asturias Fire Station said the workers were staying in the same building when flames erupted, forcing them to evacuate as the fire spread quickly.
Fire personnel arrived at the scene at around 6:56 p.m. and immediately raised the response to a second alarm due to the scale of the blaze and the limited capacity of their responding truck.
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Colegado said the workers, all assigned to the affected poultry facility, have since been temporarily relocated to another farm while authorities assess the damage and secure the area.
Cause still unclear
The farm owner’s wife, who reported the incident, told firefighters that they heard an explosion near the building’s ventilation system shortly before the fire broke out. However, Colegado said investigators still need to verify this detail.
“Under investigation pa ni kay ang giingon sa tag-iya gyud nga naa’y nibuto didto dapit sa ilahang blower pero amo pa ning balikon,” he said.
(Translation: “This is still under investigation because the owner said something exploded near their blower, but we still need to verify it.”)
Only one structure — the building that housed the poultry — was affected. A separate building beside it was saved after firefighters prevented the flames from spreading.
Fire responders were able to place the blaze under control at 8:01 p.m. and declared it fire out at 8:16 p.m.
Colegado said they still need to measure the affected area to determine the total cost of damage — initially estimated at around 2,700 square meters but subject to re-evaluation.
Follow-up inspections and interviews continued on Friday as authorities work to establish the cause of the fire and provide assistance to the displaced workers.
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