4 perish in Davao City fire

BY ZEA CAPISTRANO

DAVAO CITY – An early morning fire in a residential house here killed four people, including three minors.

Fire Inspector Shaira Borja, chief of operations of the Davao City Fire District (DCFD), said the fire occurred at Block 1, Lot 6, San Francisco Street, Phase 1 of La Verna Hills subdivision in Barangay Cabantian.

Borja added that the fire was reported at 3:52 a.m. and declared out at 6:58 am.

“May apat pong casualties at may dalawang injured,” Borja said over a phone interview.

She said the fatalities include a 19-year-old male, a 14-year-old female, and two 8-year-old boys.

Borja said two other female residents aged 16 and 12 were able to get out of the house but sustained injuries.

Borja said the initial investigation shows that the 19-year-old, 16-year-old, and one of the 8-year-old boys were children of the house owners.

She said only the 19-year-old was the oldest occupant at the time of the incident since the parents were reportedly out of town on a business trip.

Borja added that they are looking at electrical ignition as the cause of fire since the survivors said that they already noticed the fire smell the night before the incident.

She said the survivors already saw the fire over the ceiling when they were getting out of the house. (Zea Capistrano)