Sister’s love: Girl, 6, chooses siblings over chance to flee fire, death

Three minors were reported to have died when a fire struck a residential area in Sitio Avocado, Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City, on Saturday morning, March 29. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines — She could have saved herself by jumping out of the window of their one-story house and leave her 2 younger siblings behind.

But according to a neighbor, who called on 6-year-old Sachzna Lexy Siaboc, to jump out the window already because the fire that hit their house had already gotten bigger.

The six-year-old girl decided not to leave her siblings behind and went back to where her siblings were.

READ: Cebu City fire kills three minor siblings found locked in embrace

Sister’s love

“Niana gyud na akong kamagwangan nga ayaw na lang te kay ang akong manghod napaso,” Ynica Marie Siaboc, the mother of the children, said.

(Our eldest said that she would not jump because her younger siblings already suffered burns.)

Her daughter even got a blanket and soaked it with water and wrapped it around her and her siblings.

The three — Sachzna Lexy, her 4-year-old brother, Raza Lexy, and her 3-year-old Athena Lexy — were found dead after the fire. They were found hugging each other in their room.

The fire happened on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at around 8:00 a.m. at Bayabas St., Brgy. Mambaling, Cebu City.

READ: In Tabogon, ma tries to save son from burning home but both died

Someone told kids to go inside house

In an interview, Ynica Marie, mother of the victims, said that she believed that someone might have told her children to get inside the house and could have padlocked the house.

She said that the kids before the fire were outside the house with their father, who accompanied them to buy taho or tofu pudding.

The father then left the 3 kids outside their house so that he could get his e-bike. The father is an e-bike driver.

“Nagkuyog kuno sila sa mga bata padung diri namalit man og taho. Giingnan sa akong bana ang mga bata nga huwat lang mo diri ha kay magkuha ko sa e-bike, Ynica Marie said.

(They walked together heading there to buy taho. Her husband told the kids to wait for him there because he had to get the e-bike.)

“Wala siya makahibawo kinsay nagpasud nila og balik sa balay. Pagbalik na niya wala na ang mga bata toa na sud sa balay dako na ang sunog,” she said.

(He did not know who told the children to go back to the house. When he got back the children were already inside the house and the fire by then had already spread were getting bigger.) 

Ynica Marie said she was about to go home from work when that happened.

The mother works at a meat shop in Brgy. Ermita, Cebu City.

“Nahibulong pa gyud mi sa istorya nga amo kunong gi-lockan ang pultahan nga dili gyud mi kabaw mo-lock anang among pultahan,” she added.

(We were surprised in the stories that came out that we locked the door when we really do not know how to lock our door.)

READ: Fire engulfs old building at Ospital ng Maynila

Where fire started?

She also wanted authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and she denied that the fire started at their house since they did not have matches, a lighter, or a butane burner.

“Foam ra gyud na’y naa diha sir ug samin ug aparador (It is only foam, a mirror and a cabinet that are in there),” she said, adding that there was no cellular phone that was charging in their house when the incident happened.

Earlier, based on the initial investigation of the Cebu City Fire Station, they were looking into  the possibility of the children playing with matches that could have started the fire.

She’s the one, who saved me

Meanwhile, a neighbor of the victim expressed his gratitude to Sachzna Lexy, after the girl allegedly woke her up during at the height of the fire.

At that time this happened, the kids were also believed dead inside their house. But the neighbor insisted that the girl was the one who roused him from his sleep, told him about the fire spreading and that this was already near his house.

However, when he was able to get out of his house, he could no longer find the child.

“Pagkita niya sa akong anak sa haya, niingon siya nga mao gyud ni siya ang gapukaw nako,” he told Siaboc.

(When he saw the child at the wake, he said that this was the kid that woke me up.)

Around 20 houses were burned during the incident, while five were partially damaged. The estimated damage on the incident reached to P750,000.