Woman, 84, rescued from Sambag fire dies

THE 84-year-old woman who suffered third-degree burns in a fire that hit Barangay Sambag 2 last Sunday died that night.

Firefighters earlier pulled out Basilisa Opada, 84, from inside her room during the fire.

Her nephew, Pablo Miral, 52, failed to rescue his aunt as he had gone outside to ask for help. When he returned, the woman was already trapped in her room.

Opada’s house was located at the back of Nelia Gelbolingo’s house in Sitio Maharlika, where the fire reportedly started.

The fire hit two sitios - Maharlika and Palsy Side, and burned 33 houses.

Shelter

Barangay Sambag 2 used its covered court as shelter for the victims. Some victims opted to stay near their burned houses.

The fire’s damage to property is pegged at P1.5 million.

The fire alarm was received at 2:42 a.m. The fire was declared under control after 55 minutes. But it wasn’t until 6:50 a.m. that the flames were extinguished.

According to FO2 Antonio Gonzales, of the Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP) 7, they had to connect hoses to reach the fire scene.

He said the fire trucks could not get closer to the scene because there were vehicles parked on both sides of the road.

An initial investigation by the BFP showed the fire may have started in the house of Gelbolingo.

Defective wiring

They have yet to confirm what caused the fire, but Gonzales said a defective electrical system could be blamed. The flames spread quickly to the neighboring houses, which were made of light materials.

Another resident, Jebort Montero, suffered bruises from helping put out the fire.

Based on a barangay tally, 54 families composed of 270 individuals were affected by the fire.

The Department of Social Welfare and Services and the barangay said they will also distribute housing materials to the fire victims.