A Traumatizing Life and Death Battle with Fire

20th of March, 2022

Sunday

Fire, water, and the government know nothing of mercy.

- Proverb

The month of March is a fire prevention month and it is already expected that that month will be the month where there will be huge fires occurring everywhere. It is our own duty to prevent fires from happening, to lessen the damage, and ensure that no houses will be burnt to ashes.

A mighty flame follows a tiny spark.

Last night, at exactly 7 in the evening, I was sitting in the living room alone, playing with my mom’s phone. They were in the dining room having their dinner, and I decided to have my dinner later since I was still full. Later on, I felt a little itch in my throat, so I opened the window to spit. I noticed in the reflection from the glass window, it was so bright and an enormous red-light color. I looked at it and was totally shocked by what I saw. I began to panic and shouted "FIRE!" and saw my mom and grandma running towards me. I then ran out to check and my mom also began to panic as she was worried about my siblings, whose house was just right next to where the fire started.

My cousin asked me what was wrong because I was already trembling in fear, and I told him that there was a huge fire in the neighborhood. When I ran outside, I saw my nephew running towards me and was so shocked. He looked so pale because of what he had witnessed. I asked him where his mother (my sister) and his siblings were and he said that they were still in the house because he was the only one who ran first right when he saw the fire. I was trembling in so much fear and my knees were about to collapse. I couldn’t type proper words on my phone because I was literally shaking.

My mom was about to go to my brother’s house, but I told her not to go there since she’s not totally healed yet. I ran down to the neighbourhood and saw my sister with my niece and nephew. She was so worried because she couldn’t find my other nephew, and I told her that he was already at our grandparents’ house. After I said that, I saw her face feel a little relief. I saw a lot of people gathering and I was so devastated to see the houses slowly getting eaten by the fire. I can’t help but feel emotional seeing those people who were not able to grab their stuff and the only thing they had was themselves. I even saw someone who was just barefoot and topless, and the only thing that he had was the shorts that he wore and his phone.

The fire was so close to where my brother lives (my sister-in-law’s house), that my cousin ran immediately and took my nephew to our grandparents' house. The firemen took so long to arrive, and the fire got bigger and bigger until it got into the other houses and then to another. The power went off and the only light that we had was from the houses that were burning. The crying and shouting of people around us were the only voices that were echoing around us.

The house that was just built a few months ago is now burnt to ashes. The house that was currently being renovated is now turned into charcoal. It was so devastating to watch everyone crying helplessly because they couldn’t do anything to get their things back as they were already eaten by fire.

They took all the water they could find, even the fish pond and mineral water, just to put out the fire. When the firemen arrived, the houses were already crumbled to pieces and the house next door was already burning. The dog that was chained luckily escaped all by himself before the fire got close to him. My cousin was about to set him free, but thankfully he was able to set himself free.

The fire started at 7 in the evening and was finally put out at 11 in the evening. They’d been battling fires for four hours, and thankfully there was no one injured that night. Even though there was no longer fire, you could still feel the heat all over the place and there was still smoke everywhere. We were so thankful that they were able to put out the fire before it got too close to the other houses and might get too close to our house too.

Just this morning, we went back to the scene and we still saw smoke everywhere. The people who lived there went back to see where their house was in the hope of retrieving some of their stuff, even though everything was already burnt to ashes.

The hundred thousand pesos that were kept for her daughter, who will be in college next year, were already turned to ashes, and the only thing that she had left was the coins.

It was another horrible and traumatic night that we had. The first one was the night when we got hit by Super Typhoon Odette’s havoc and now this. It was even better to get hit by a typhoon than to see your house burnt to ashes.

That is why we should always be aware of everything, especially if it’s involved with fire. No matter how small that fire is, it can grow bigger in just the blink of an eye. Always be cautious when dealing with things that may cause a fire.

Safety starts with awareness. Awareness Starts With You.

STAY SAFE ALWAYS!

All images attached were captured and owned by the author.