Couple homeless after Nov. 1 blaze

CEBU, Philippines - A couple who left to visit their deceased relatives had no home to return to after it was gutted down by fire in Barangay Daantabogon, Tabogon town last Saturday.

Panfilo Arcillas and his wife Eleuteria arrived home at 1 p.m. on All Souls’ Day to witness their house being engulfed by flames.

The couple just came from the Tabogon Municipal Cemetery after visiting the graves of their dead loved ones.

An investigation made by PO3 Epifanio Comedido, Jr. showed that the fire started at the ceiling of the couple’s living room.

Comedido believed that the electrical wirings on the ceiling created a short circuit that sparked the fire.

Panfilo tried to control the blaze by turning off the main power source but it was futile because the entire house was already aflame.

The Bogo Fire Station, whose area of responsibility includes Tabogon town, estimated that the fire cost the Arcillas couple, who was not able to save anything, at least P400,000 in destroyed properties.

Meanwhile, in Barangay Tabunok, Talisay City, Cebu, a man suffered minor burns after he tried to save a television set that caught fire Saturday afternoon.

The Talisay City Fire Station received a report at 5:30 p.m. about the fire inside Holy Child Subdivision at the house of Jonicio Tabacan.

Initial investigation by SFO2 Marcelo Aguilar showed that the fire was caused by an electrical wire that damaged Tabacan’s television set, causing P8,000 worth of damage.

FO3 Dennis Cabusas said the television set appeared to have overheated.

He said it was fortunate that the resulting fire was not able to spread, as many houses would  have  been destroyed in the thickly-populated barangay.

In Barangay Luz, Cebu City, a house was razed when fire also struck Cabantan St. past 8 p.m. on the same day.

FO3 Emiliano Daño of the Cebu City Fire Department said the blaze, which originated from the ceiling, was traceable to the house’s electrical wiring.  (FREEMAN)