New Year’s Day fire razes 54 houses in Davao city

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Some 54 houses were razed by fire believed to have been started by someone trying to defy an existing ban on the sale and use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials here.

Authorities, however, are also looking into the possibility that the fire, which occurred at around 12:13 a.m. yesterday in Barangay Wilfredo Aquino, Agdao district, was caused by faulty electrical wiring in one of the houses in the area.