|
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
80-year-old dies in Bry. Suba fire
By Minerva B. Gerodias
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
AN 80-YEAR-OLD bedridden man died in a fire that hit Barangay Suba, Cebu City yesterday afternoon.
Mercedes Gonzales, the niece of victim Paterno Anoba, said she took her two children to safety first, leaving Anoba on his bed.
But she could not go back to their house because the fire was already very big.
The fire, declared a general alarm, was controlled after 20 minutes. Around 20 houses were gutted, while four were damaged. Total damage to property is estimated at P1.4 million.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is yet to determine the cause of the fire that started on the second floor of the house of Francisco and Anecita Garcia.
Fire investigator Julito Manding said the Garcia couple had no idea what caused the fire because the room where it started had no electrical wires.
Two three-year-old children—one of whom is the couple’s son and other, their nephew—were sleeping in the room when the fire started.
The Garcia couple and their other children were at the ground floor when they heard their neighbors shouting “fire.”
Rescue
They rushed to the second floor and rescued the two kids.
Gonzales said she was on the second floor and when she looked outside, the fire was already huge.
She ran downstairs to bring her eight-month-old and five-year-old daughters outside.
Her uncle, Anoba, was lying on the bed at the ground floor, but she could not save him because the fire had started eating their house.
BFP received the alarm at 2:44 p.m. and after 10 minutes, it was raised to a general alarm.
Manding said they had to declare it a general alarm because the place is congested and the houses are mostly made of light materials.
Water supply was not a problem but crowd control and narrow roads were.
The fire victims were brought to Barangay Suba Sports Complex. Manding said the fire affected Sitio Mahayahay I and Sitio Missionaries.
(February 11, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
