The house where the two children died.*Chamber Volunteer Fire Brigade photo
Two children died and their grandfather sustained second degree burns when a fire destroyed their home at Purok Lison, Brgy 1, Bacolod City, early Tuesday morning, May 20.
The charred bodies of an 8-year-old boy and his 6-year-old sister were found next to each other, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Bacolod reported.
Their 63-year-old grandfather who lived nearby tried to find them and sustained burns on his arm and face as he tried to enter the burning house.
There was a brownout at Purok Lison and the fire that hit the house started from a lighted candle, Fire Officer 2 Rolin D. Paulan, Bacolod Fire Station chief arson investigator, said.
The fire started at about 2 a.m. but the fire department received the fire call at 2:19 a.m. and it was extinguished at 2:33 a.m., he said.
The mother said she went out to buy food for her children at Jollibee as they were going to Iloilo early in the morning, Paulan said.
When she returned with the food the children had asked for their home was already destroyed by the fire, the mother said.
“Based on our initial assessment of the bodies the children tried to escape the burning house” but that will be up to the Scene of the Crime Operatives to determine, Paulan said.
The cost of the destroyed house made of bamboo and old wood was P3,000, he said.
Bacolod City Social Welfare Officer Richelle Verdeprado-Mangga said they provided food and non-food items to the victims’ family.
They are also processing financial assistance and will provide psychological first aid, she added.
A fire also destroyed one house and damaged another in Zone 4, Purok Tunay, Brgy Bata, Bacolod City, at 8:08 a.m. Tuesday, the BFP Bacolod reported.
Damage was placed at P15,000.
The city government has provided assistance to the two affected families, Verdeprado-Mangga said.*