Two children died while two of their siblings and a man were injured in a fire that razed their houses in Barangay 8, Caloocan City, before dawn Sunday.
Supt. Stephen Requina, Caloocan City fire marshal, identified the fatalities as Jilian Nardeja, 8; and Marian Nardeja, 7.
Kian Nardeja, 10; Rodolfo Nardeja, 5; and Fulgencio Rodriguez, 45; were all injured in the fire and are now confined at the Caloocan City Medical Center. The two children were in critical condition.
Requina said the Nardejas all sustained burns on 90 percent of their bodies while Rodriguez was electrocuted.
The fire started on the ground floor of the Nardejas’ house at about 3:04 a.m.
The blaze quickly reached second alarm after five minutes and was declared out at about 4:07 a.m.
Requina said the children’s mother went out of the house to buy some food before the fire broke out. Their father is reportedly in jail for drug charges.
The victims were pulled out of the house through the roof.
Requina pegged the damage of the fire at around P150,000.
Eight trucks from the Caloocan City Bureau of Fire Protection and 25 trucks from other volunteer groups helped in putting out the fire.
Investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the fire. (Minka Tiangco)
