Chief Inspector Agapito Nacario, Caloocan City Fire Marshal, said Christopher Ching, 25, a mental retardate; Juanita Cunanan, 84, who was bedridden and two still unidentified minors whose sex and ages could not be determined yet, perished in the six-hour fire that burned down some 300 houses in BMBA, Barangay 120, 2nd Avenue, Grace Park, Caloocan City.
SFO3 Randy Resurreccion, Arson Investigation and Intelligence Unit chief of the local Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said they are still waiting for relatives to identify and claim the bodies of the last two fatalities.
The victims were charred beyond recognition even as a Vermine Garcia, 56, was also reported having sustained a minor wound in the right foot in his flight to safety. Damage to property was initially estimated at around P10 million.
At press time, city officials, including Nacario, were informed that President Arroyo was set to visit the fire scene to provide relief to the victims and commiserate with the families of the victims.
FO1 Marcelino Espeso III, arson investigator, said they found difficulty in putting out the fire as they had to lay out several lengths of hoses to reach the raging fire. He said the fire burned in the interior of a densely populated area accessible only through narrow passageways. High walls around the fire scene also hampered fire fighting operations. compounding the problem was the fact that at the height of the fire, firecrackers abandoned in haste by some residents started exploding contributing to the intensity of the blaze.
Investigation showed the fire began at around 7:50 p.m. but was declared a fire-out only at around 1:50 a.m. yesterday. Espeso said the fire originated from the bedroom of the rented second floor by Nicanor Leonardo, 53, a driver of Cream Silk taxi, of a house owned by Marites Teves, 35. Teves told arson probers the fire was caused by an unattended lighted candle at the altar of Leonardo’s bedroom.