Aftermath of the fire that gutted 10 houses and claimed the lives of 7 people, including three children and a PWD, in Arlington Pond, Cebu City. | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Casualties of the fire that broke out in Arlington Pond, Barangay Sta. Cruz, Cebu City has climbed to seven, making it the deadliest fire yet that struck the city this year.
Senior Fire Office 1 (SFO1) Wendel Villanueva, spokesperson of the Cebu City Fire Office, said fire investigators on Wednesday morning, Sept. 1, found the remains of two individuals who were earlier reported as missing.
Villanueva told reporters in an interview that firefighters pulled out the bodies at past 8 a.m. on Wednesday. But its identities are still being verified as of this writing.
But initial reports from fire investigators showed that the two victims initially reported as missing were identified as Lilian Carvajal, 72; and Ivan Meija, 58, and a person with disability (PWD).
“Just this morning, past 8 a.m. gi-pullout sa atong fire investigators on the ground ang duha… Ang usa, kaning PWD nga victim, nakit-an sa CR sa balay (kung asa nahitabo ang sunog). So all accounted for na tanan,” said Villanueva.
The five other casualties of the tragedy were identified as Hannah Mae Carvajal, 34; Felicity Sachi Carvajal, 12; Lyka Carvajal, 16; Andre Carvajal, 6; and Dan Henry Carvajal, 3.
Investigators believed that the victims were trapped when the fire broke out, and that it was already too late when they learned about it.
This led fire officials to remind the public of the importance of ringing fire alarms or informing nearby residents every time a fire strikes.
“Based on the account sa usa sa mga nakasurvive, pag gawas niya murag late na siya karealize nga duna siyay kauban sa sud. At that time, wa na siya tuguti pagsud balik sa balay nga nasunog,” Villanueva explained.
“Mao nang importante and kinahanglan gyud nato i-sound ang alarm or inform everyone basta naay sunog sa duul,” he added.
The fire gutted a total of 10 houses and partially damaged five others. Damage was pegged at P11 million.
Fire investigators are still determining the cause of the tragedy but found out that the fire started on the second floor of the house owned by a certain Lizabeth Lao.
Firefighters received the fire alarm at 2:03 p.m. and immediately raised it to 1st alarm since the fire site was located a few meters away from a tertiary hospital.
They managed to put the flames under control around 20 minutes later, and by 3:41 p.m. they declared fire out.
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/ dcb