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Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Woman, grandchild trapped dead in town blaze
CEBU CITY -- A woman and her six-month-old grandson were burned to death in a fire that razed their house in Alegria, Cebu at 2:30 a.m. Monday.
The southwestern town's newly acquired fire cycle was not enough to put out the blaze but Alegria Mayor Raul Guisadio said it prevented the fire from spreading to a bodega nearby that contained liquefied petroleum gas tanks and neighboring houses.
Since the town has no truck of its own, it had to wait for the fire truck from Badian town to arrive 20 minutes after the alarm was received while a second truck from Malabuyoc arrived at 3 a.m.
The fire in Sitio Sangit, Madridejos was declared controlled at 3:30 a.m.
The Moalboal fire truck also arrived to help after traveling some 28 kilometers.
It was the fifth fire in the town this year. Sitio Sangit is about seven kilometers away from the town proper.
Mayor Guisadio said policemen could not open the door of Bustamante's house because it was locked from the inside. They tried the roof but when they tore off a GI sheet, thick black smoke overwhelmed them.
Senior Inspector Dionpe Español, Alegria police station chief, said Cirila Bustamante, 48, and her grandson Paul Ace Bustamante were asleep when the fire broke out in the ceiling of the single-story home.
Español said they merely got a text message from a concerned neighbor, which prompted them to send radio messages to Badian, Malabuyoc and Moalboal for help.
The Moalboal Fire Station has jurisdiction over the town as it is the nearest station with personnel under the Bureau of Fire Protection.
Policemen are the ones handling the province-owned fire trucks of Badian and Malabuyoc.
Initially, Español said he was almost convinced an electrical short circuit caused the fire, which damaged an estimated P100,000 worth of property.
They traced this to a cheap ceiling fan being sold in the streets for about P50, which was being used in the bedroom at the time.
However, fire investigators of the Moalboal Fire Station are yet to determine what really caused the fire.
Español said they found the bodies on different sides of the living room.
Since the fire was started at dawn, he said it was probably too late for Cirila and the baby, who may have been sleeping at the time.
He believes Cirila tried to save the baby by tossing him out the window, but failed to get him out because of the iron grills.
Both were charred beyond recognition.
Español said the baby's mother, who is Cirila's daughter, is a single mother who works in Cebu City.
He said the neighbors were all roused from their sleep and were all ready with axes to break into the house, but the fire was too big.
He said that had the Badian Police not arrive with their fire truck, the fire could have spread to other houses.
The Bustamantes’ semi-concrete house is near several other houses in the area. (MEA/With AIV)
(June 13, 2006 issue)
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