Two houses in Tagbilaran City were gutted by a fire which authorities believed to have been caused by a child who was playing with a lighter late Friday morning.

Senior Fire Officer Richen Roslinda of the Tagbilaran City Fire Station said the fire broke out at around 11:50 a.m.

The fire gutted the semi-concrete houses of Corazon Quibir and Godfrey Dinsay along the Mansasa-Dampas Road in Barangay Mansasa, leaving property damages worth more than P400,000.

No person was injured during the fire but the blaze burned a motorcycle and also led to the death of a pet dog, a shih tzu.

Roslinda said the fire reached second alarm prompting the Dauis Fire Station to deploy fire trucks to aid the Tagbilaran firefighters before they declared fire out at 12:59 p.m.

Initial probe indicated that the blaze started when a boy accidentally set fire to a wooden bamboo panel near the houses.

However, further investigations were still being conducted to determine if there was another cause of the fire. (A. Doydora)