Sunog!!!
Apart from the stench of neighbouring Smokey Mountain, the noise of jeepneys, trucks, and stereos, and the rosary of side-car drivers along T Earnshaw Street, this cry have been an attraction to Gagalangineños. An old lady once reminded her grand daughter, who was living in Tondo, that that district has been known to be easily caught in fires. Indeed, in the years that I have been its resident, Gagalangin has its share of fires. Allow me to recall at least two incidents.
February 10, 1989. The Apostleship of Prayer Choir, where I was a member (youngest at that time!), was scheduled to a practice after the 6:30pm Mass. Electric power was cut so the rehearsal was called off. As we were walking down Juan Luna Street, we heard news that fire broke out in Maria Guizon Street.
The next day, as I went to church for the dawn procession in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes, the town was completely enveloped in untold darkness. Lighted candles were the only ones that guided our bare feet in walking through the main road. Fr Mario Enriquez, parish priest then, was so inspired by the incident that he said Mass without his shoes on. Before concluding the Mass, he called on people to assist the fire victims.
Jonathan de la Llana, a colleague, whispered to me, “Nasunugan sila Herminia.” Herminia was another parish colleague who lives in Laguna Extension. We never thought that the fire would go as far as her area. Fire fighters struggled as they were prevented by a mass of shanties that blocked their way. We saw Herminia that night; she and her folks were temporarily housed in Torres High School. Other victims were provisional housed in other public schools. One could not fully believe how a big piece of property with an awful lot of houses has been converted overnight into an empty wilderness. Weeks later, people began returning to their charred homes. Life has to go on for them.
Sometime in 1999. While washing the dishes the phone rang. I went rushing to answer it. Nidz, then my fiancée, was on the other line. She told me that there was fire in their neighbourhood. In a flash, I went to Maria Guizon, where she used to stay with her brother and his family. The junction of North Bay and Juan Luna was blocked by fire trucks and people – uzis (onlookers) included. Maria Guizon was impassable so I did some short-cuts via Laguna Street. Kuya Johnny, Nidz’s older brother, was outside the house. He was relieved to see me. As I entered their home, I saw their belongings already packed ready to be moved if worse come to worst. In a little while, fires that were about to take its toll in Maria Guizon were subdued, thanks to the firemen and concerned residents.
Fires have been like a television show to us. They could send a chill down our spines. They could make our adrenaline rise up that we can carry a refrigerator alone should fires hit us. They could entertain (which might be a reason why people, once “Sunog!” is heard, start to look for it and then see it for themselves regardless if the incident is far from where they live). They could inform and teach us - how careless or evil their perpetrators have been; how incompetent our fire department is (Gagalangin has a fire station which has a bad record in the past. I just don’t know if it has been overhauled. At the moment, there is San Jose de Gagalangin Fire volunteers based in Cavite Street.); how some of the town’s area have been maintained (or neglected); how we should be careful of causing fires (As a cliché goes, “Hindi na baleng masunugan ka, huwag ka lang pagmulan ng sunog.”.); etc.
Fires could bring a community closer together. But should this be the only case?
