Six members of a family were killed while another was injured in a fire that hit a house in Caloocan City early yesterday morning.
Supt. Stephen Requina, city fire marshal, identified the victims as Maricel Roxas, 33; Robert Basas, 10; Edwardo Roxas, 8; a certain Langoy Basas, 4; Niño Basas, 3; and JP Basas, 2, and the injured as Benedict Basas,13.
The fatalities, Requina said, might have been trapped and suffocated inside the house as they were sleeping when the fire started.
Benedict managed to escape when he awoke but sustained second-degree burns, Requina added.
Initial investigation disclosed that the fire which reportedly started at around 2:45 a.m. was caused by a candle that was left unattended inside a room.
Requina said that the fire immediately engulfed the half portion of the house as it was made of light materials.
Meanwhile, a fire broke out at St. John the Baptist Church, locally known as the Pinaglabanan Church, in San Juan City Saturday night amid the city’s week-long festivities in honor of its patron saint.
The San Juan City Bureau of Fire Protection said the fire started at around 8:20 p.m. in the front center portion of the church’s ceiling.
The fire was quickly contained and was declared fire out at around 8:45 p.m. No fire alarm level was raised.
Initial investigation revealed that its electrical wirings, which were recently re-wired after a renovation, burst in flames due to an electrical short circuit.
City Fire Marshal Supt. Nelfa Cabrera-Lehnert said damage was pegged at P200 only since the wirings were the only ones destroyed. (Joseph Pedrajas and Jhon Casinas)
