Man injured in midday fire

CEBU, Philippines - A man was injured while his house and sari-sari store were destroyed in a midday fire in Barangay Sapangdaku yesterday.

Cliff Abella, 36, who works as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Saudi Arabia, sustained second degree burns in the upper extremities after he tried to save some of his belongings.

Senior Fire Officer 2 Lowel Opolentisima of the Cebu City Fire Department said they received the report at 12:40 pm.

Firefighters penetrated the interior portion of sitio Lupa in Sapangdaku, a few kilometers from the national highway, and controlled the blaze in 10 minutes.

Opolentisima said the fire started at the second floor of Abella’s two-story house, which was mostly made of light materials. He pegged the damage at P10,000.

Abella, in an interview, said he was arguing with his wife over personal matters when he noticed smoke emitting from their room.

He believed that the fire was triggered by a matchstick that he used to light a cigarette. Abella said he intended to throw the matchstick out through the window of their room but added that it must have fallen unnoticed on the mattress and started the fire, which eventually razed the whole second floor of the house, as well as the sari-sari store. Abella’s wife survived unscathed as she ran outside immediately after learning about the fire. 

Two motorcycles parked outside the Abella residence were also damaged.

Abella is set to fly back to Saudi Arabia at the end of the month.  (FREEMAN)