Cries for help could be heard from beyond the flames on All Soul’s Day but rescuers could not get through.

The blaze suspected to have started from a candle on the first floor of a boarding house in Barangay 19, Bacolod, at 1:19 a.m. yesterday swiftly ate up the stairs blocking off the exit of those on the second floor, prompting one man to jump out of a window to call for help, but the building made of wood soon collapsed.

When the fire was put out at 4:08 a.m. fire fighters dug through the rubble and found 16 charred bodies ranging from an 11-month-old baby to a 70-year-old woman who were all occupants of the boarding house, FO3 Cornelio Silva of the Bacolod Fire Station said.

Fire Chief Pamela Rojane Candido said they only recovered 16 charred bodies but City Social Welfare Officer Sally Abelarde said the  Department of Social Services and Development had a confirmed 17th victim whom she identified as Annavic Celiz.

Aside from the boarding house, 58 other nearby houses were destroyed and three others were damaged, Silva said.

About 80 families were left homeless, Abelarde said.

This is a tragic day for Bacolod, this is something that has never happened before, Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who was at the scene of the fire as firefighters worked to contain it, said.

A heart stopping scene was the discovery of six bodies where the dead appeared to be hugging each other as the flames moved towards them, he said.

CHARRED BODIES

Some of the charred bodies that looked like shriveled up branches of trees had hands outstretched as if they were reaching out for help.

The dead, some of whom were vendors in the nearby Burgos Market, were identified by surviving members of their families based on the location of their rooms in the burnt building.

The fire that began from the boarding house owned Margie Depakakibo at 1:19 a.m. was under control at 2:40 a.m. and was put out at 4:08 a.m., Candido said.

The fire destroyed an estimated P4 million in property as most of the houses hit were made of light materials she said.

The fire is believed to have started from a candle or an improvised lamp and not from faulty electrical wiring, Candido said.

Witness Josauro Atilan, 37, said a vendor who lived in the boarding house jumped out of the building shouting for help.

“We poured buckets of water to try to put out the fire but it spread fast through the wooden structure and we could not stop it,” he said.

TRAPPED BY FLAMES

Shouts for help could be heard but rescuers were unable to save those inside because the entrance and stairs of the building quickly went up in flames and the whole structure collapsed soon after, Atilan added.

Killed were brothers Novie, 12, and BeeG, 6, Chavez; Josephine Niño, 42, and her children Jovelyn, 14, and  Ruel, 13, and grandchild Rosemarie, 11 months old; boat janitor Junifer Demandar, 45, and his manicurist wife, Jenalyn, and their son, Joshua, 10; Nica Amelda, 25; Eduarda Abajero, 70, and her son Napoleon Abajero, 40; fish vendor Joselito Cabajosa, 28, and his  children Carl Joshua, 3, Analyn, 7, and  Adah Pauline, 6, Silva said.

But Abelarde said that it was confirmed that the wife of Joselito, Annavic Celiz, was also killed in the blaze.

Annavic’s sister-in-law, Julita Toreno, said she believes she died in the fire but she did not know why her body had not been located yet.

Candido said they could not confirm that she died until they find her body.

Injured was Gloria Abrigo who sustained burns on 27 percent of her body. The fire is suspected to have come from her area on the first floor of the boarding house, Silva said.

BABY, TOO

A stunned looking Dionisio Niño, 46, from Barangay Tugis, Pontevedra, who is a vendor of cellular phone chargers, wept as he identified the charred bodies of his family who died in the boarding house – his wife Josephine, children Jovelyn, 14 and  Roel, 13, and his grandchild Rosemarie, who would have been 1-year-old on Nov. 23.

Niño said he jumped out of the building to call for help but could not go back in to rescue his family because the fire had spread so fast.

Ruel Chavez, of Cauayan, Negros Occidental, and a jeepney driver, said he lost two of his sons in the fire – BeeG, 6, and Novie, 12.

A weeping Chavez said he and his wife were at a little store they have on the first floor of the boarding house where they sell coffee to augment their income when the fire broke out.

He said he brought his two other children sleeping on the first floor to safety and went back to try to get his sons sleeping on the second floor but was met by huge flames, he could not get to the second floor where he could hear shouts for help.

BeeG wanted to sleep with us on the first floor but we only slept on benches so my wife told him to sleep in the second floor, he said.

His wife was devastated, Chavez said.

CITY ASSISTANCE

Leonardia said that, aside from food and other assistance the city will give to the fire victims, stress debriefing will also be provided by the city social welfare office, especially to those who lost their loved ones.

The city government will do all it can to help the victims, he said.

“We also call on the public to pray for the victims of the fire and to provide whatever assistance they can, too, as we did for the victims of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. It is time to say charity begins at home,” he said.

Leah Dolovico, 50, a casual employee of the Bacolod City government, said her whole house and everything she owned was destroyed by the fire and her two dogs also died.

Three houses were already burned down when the fire fighters came, she said.

BOARDING HOUSE

The boarding house where the fire came from was really a fire hazard, there were so many people living in it, she said.

Leonardia said he doubts that the boarding house has a mayor’s permit and will have the matter investigated.

The owner of the building was identified as Margie Depakakibo.

Senator Richard Gordon, Philippine National Red Cross chairman, said he instructed the PNRC Bacolod chapter to immediately distribute relief assistance to the victims.

Also at the fire scene were Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella and congressional candidate Ricardo Cano Tan, who also provided assistance to the victims.

Another fire at 6 a.m. Nov. 1 also destroyed the house of Mildred Marilla and damaged the house of Joaquin Sales at Banahaw Street, Villamonte, Bacolod City.

Fire fighters estimated the damage at P300,000.*CPG

back to top