Apartment blaze kills four people

CEBU, Philippines - Four people died when a fire gutted a 15-door apartment complex along Don Pedro Rodriguez Street, Capitol Site, Cebu City at dawn yesterday.

Fire Officer 3 Antonio Gonzales said that the victims could have possibly suffocated causing them to lose consciousness, which is why they were not able to go out of their apartment.

The victims were identified as Rolando Caberte, 63, a retired manager of Philippine Air Lines; his daughter Maria Charmaine Caberte, 35, a call center agent; her 15-year-old son, Miguel Paolo Caberte; and the family’s helper, Alma de la Torre, 25, a native of Canlaon, Negros Occidental.

Maria Charmaine was reportedly four months pregnant.

De la Torre, on the other hand, was supposed to tie the knot next month, said her sister Mary Joy.

Gonzales pegged the damage at P3.25 million.

He said they are still conducting a thorough investigation as to what caused the fire.

The survivors could not also point out what took place when the fire started.

 He said they will also include in their investigation the allegations of Concepcion Bartido, a stay-out laundrywoman of the Cabertes, that she smelled a burnt electric wire at the apartment two days before the incident.

The fire investigator said though that based on the account of one Virgie Dagle, one of the occupants, the fire originated at room C that was rented by the victims.

The fire was reported by a neighbor of the victims at 3:37 a.m.

When the firemen arrived, Gonzales said, the fire already engulfed the building at the rear portion, which housed seven doors of the apartment complex including the one occupied by the Cabertes.

Two other buildings that had four apartments each were also already affected by the fire.

Six shanties located at the back of the apartment complex were also totally burned aside from the car of the Cabertes.

Gonzales said they deployed all the available fire trucks in Cebu City and controlled the blaze from spreading through the nearby houses at 4:21 a.m. or 44 minutes after arriving at the scene.

Fire trucks from neighboring cities of Talisay and Mandaue were also dispatched to the area to help control the fire.

Also helping out were fire engines from the Santo Niño Fire Brigade, Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade and the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (ERUF).

The first charred remains were found at 6 a.m. then after scouring through the scene, the authorities found the last one at 11 a.m.

Gonzales said that one of the charred remains was found near the door, two others found at the living room, and the last one at the basement.

The unrecognizable remains of the victims were taken to the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes along Junquera St.

Dr. Nestor Sator, chief of the PNP Crime Laboratory-7, will conduct forensic examination on the remains for the identification of the cadavers.

Nicolas Tan, owner of the apartment, said that the two-storey apartment was constructed over 20 years ago. The apartment’s first floor was made of concrete while the second floor was made of light materials.

Tan, who learned of the incident when someone came to his house to inform him, revealed that the Cabertes were his pioneering tenants who rented the place when the apartment complex opened.

He said he doesn’t personally conduct inspection at the apartment, but he has an assistant who goes to the place to check the area and answer the complaints of the tenants on their electrical connections, water leakage and other concerns regarding the apartment.

Tan said that there were about 50 occupants of his apartments. He is set to be invited by the fire department to help shed light on the incident.

Dagle, who occupied Room D, alleged that he was sleeping at the living room when she smelled smoke. When she verified it, she saw that there was a fire inside the victims’ room which prompted her to shout for help and call for the victims but she did not hear any response.

Gonzales said that the victims at that time could have already collapsed due to suffocation or because of the falling debris.

Cebu City Fire Marshall Esmael Codilla visited the fire scene yesterday and noticed that the fire exit of the apartment did not meet the standard.

The police on the other hand only recovered two partially burned wallets, a tiny bag, Philippine passports and some papers owned by the Cabertes from the fire scene.

Some of the victims transferred to their immediate relatives while the others are now temporarily housed at the barangay’s sports center and were given food and financial assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the city government. with Jessica Ann Pareja/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)