By GLAZYL MASCULINO
BACOLOD CITY – Six people perished when they were trapped in a fire that struck a pension house on Gonzaga-Locsin Street in Bacolod City early Tuesday morning.
According to city fire marshal Publio Ploteña, the fire broke out around 4:37 a.m. at the ground floor area of the five-storey Java Pension House owned by Christopher Java. It reached the general alarm.
Ploteña said they searched the building and found the bodies in different rooms where they were trapped during the blaze.
They were probably suffocated and were not able to find the fire exit due to panic, he added.
He, however, has yet to reveal their identities as of press time.
Of the total number of casualties, one was a minor, two were women, and three were men.
Ploteña said that four persons were also hurt, including an Australian who sustained serious injuries. They were all rushed to a hospital.
According to a certain Ronnie, one of the occupants, he was with three other friends when he noticed smoke from the outside.
He woke up his companions and they jumped off the window to survive. All of them were accounted and unharmed.
Officials of the Bureau of Fire Protection declared fire out around 9:15 a.m.
Arson investigators have yet to establish the cause of the fire and the estimated cost of damage.
