Child dies in Lapu fire

This is the aftermath of the fire in Barangay Basak in Lapu-Lapu City on Monday, August 23, 2021, that left one child dead.

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu—A 4-year-old child perished in a fire that broke out in a house in Sitio Cadurong Suba Masulog, Barangay Basak here at around noon on Monday, August 23, 2021.

Fire Officer II Jeffrey Gerodias, a fire investigator at the Lapu-Lapu City Fire District,  said that they received the fire alarm at 12:44 pm. At around 1:40 p.m., the firemen were already able to control the fire that totally burned three houses and partially damaged one more.

Gerodias said the mother of the child, Malou Pailden, told him that she was asleep and woke up to find out that the foam of the bed  she was sleeping on was already on fire.

Before she slept, she said that she saw her 4-year-old daughter playing with matches on their foam bed.

“She then woke up to a burning bed cushion,” Gerodias said.

Gerodias said the mother was able to save her 1-year-old child first. She went back to get her four-year-old child but failed as the fire became bigger.

The mother, Gerodias said, actually acquired  first and second-degree burns while trying to save her child.

“She had a lot of burns on her back and legs,” Gerodias said.

Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan, who responded to the fire alarm, said that the city will shoulder all the expenses for the burial of the child.

He also assured that fire victims will receive financial assistance while the city will also shoulder their meals for three days.

/bmjo