Hardware blaze leaves owner dead

A 72-year-old businessman died while his son suffered third degree burns while trying to save him from their burning hardware store in Balintawak, Quezon City yesterday.

Firemen who responded to the fire alarm found the charred body of Antonio Serapio at the second floor of the Premier Construction Supply on 1032 A. Bonifacio Avenue. He died of suffocation.

His son Warren was rushed to the nearby hospital for treatment of third degree burns.

The fire, which broke out at 11:30 a.m., was likely caused by an unattended candle. Firemen contained the blaze 30 minutes later.

At the height of the fire, the younger Serapio entered the building to save his father, but the flames and thick smoke forced him to rush back out. — Perseus Echeminada