Fire kills 3 elderly persons

THREE elderly persons died in the fire that razed 27 houses at Exodus in Barangay 8-A (Bankerohan), Davao City on Sunday.

Found dead inside their bedroom were couple Aurora, 70, and Dante Damondamon, 73, after the fire broke out in their kitchen around 10:15 p.m. at Purok 1, Yakal Alley in Exodus.

According to initial investigation, the couple was sleeping inside their bedroom on the second floor of their wooden house while Dante’s only sister, Theresa, 62, was tending to a fire in the kitchen.

The fire, however, went out of control even as Theresa tried to quell this with a gallon of liquid that was on hand.

The couple was not able to go out of their bedroom while Theresa was rescued by residents who brought her to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).

She died at the hospital Monday dawn.

"Karton man god na ang gamiton nila sa pagluto. Basin kadtong nayabo sab niya, murag gas to kay misamot man pag-ulbo ang kalayo (These old folks use scrap carton to make fire for cooking. Maybe, she mistakenly threw kerosene instead of water when she tried to put out the fire because the fire grew even bigger after she did this)," said Jovita Ferrer, a neighbor.

It took firefighters until 1 a.m. to put out the fire because of the narrow alleys and houses built close to each other, Bangoy Fire Station Inspector Salvador Flores said.

Damage was estimated at P1.2 million.

The City Social Services and Development Office is already attending to the survivors.

In an interview, Liwayway Caligdong, assistant chief of the City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO), said they recorded a total of 24 destroyed houses and three damaged structures, including the Day Care Center of Barangay 8-A.

Caligdong said that based on their validation, a total of 29 house owners, 37 sharers, seven renters, and four boarders were affected by the incident.

"Naghatag mi kaganihang buntag ug hot meals, cooked noodles sa mga nasunogan. Nag community cooking pud ta didto ug uban pa nga non-cash assistance nahatag na nato (We gave out hot meals and cooked noodles for them. There was also a community cooking and other non-cash assistance already given)," she said.

Caligdong said the neighbors of Damondamon were saying that the fire already broke out in that house sometime ago, but they were able to help the old folks put this out.

“Unya gabie, nasunog na gyud (Last night, the neighbor were not able to do anything)," she added.