1 dead, 5 hurt as family’s home burns in Pasig City

MANILA, Philippines — A 60-year-old woman died while five members of her family were injured in a fire that destroyed their two-story building in Barangay Manggahan, Pasig City yesterday.

Josephine Araniadar was declared dead on arrival at the Holy Life Hospital. She died from smoke inhalation, police said.

Jassi Maria Araniadar; Jessica Araniadar, 33; Xandrea Valenton, 11, and her siblings Sophia, seven, and Ruel, one, are being treated at the Pasig City General Hospital and Mission Hospital for smoke inhalation.

The Araniadars were sound asleep on the second floor when the fire broke out at around 3:35 a.m. at the ground floor, where commercial kiosks were located, Pasig fire marshall Superintendent Aristotle Banaga said.

A neighbor called the fire department after seeing smoke billowing out of the Araniadars’ building.

Firefighters rescued the victims, who were trapped in their rooms. The firefighters put the fire out at around 4:39 a.m.

Earlier reports stated that faulty electrical wiring caused the fire but Banaga ordered a deeper investigation of the incident.

Fewer fires during New Year revelry

Meanwhile, fewer fire incidents took place during the New Year celebration, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said yesterday.

The BFP recorded seven fires since New Year’s Eve on Monday. It is lower by 79.41 percent when compared to the same period in the previous year when 34 fire incidents occurred.

BFP spokesperson Superintendent Joanne Vallejo attributed the decrease to the bureau’s information campaign reminding the public of ways to prevent fires from happening.

Six of the fires happened in Metro Manila while one took place in Barangay Gusing in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur.

Aside from the Pasig fire, Vallejo said two fires happened in Manila and one each in Caloocan and Navotas.

She said none of the fires were caused by firecrackers but other reasons such as electrical overload and plugged appliances left unattended. – Emmanuel Tupas