Boy who died in fire found clutching Bible

A 9-year-old boy died after he was trapped inside their house that caught fire in Barangay Gunob, Lapu-Lapu City last Sunday afternoon.

The Lapu-Lapu City Fire Department (LCFD) identified the fatality as James Sorbella.

Sorbella was still holding a Bible when the firefighters discovered his charred body, which was right at the entrance of their house in Purok Ube, Barangay Gun-ob.

SFO1 Hadjiludin Samonte of LCFD said they did not receive any call from the residents of Purok Ube about the fire.

By the time LCFD personnel saw the thick smoke at 3:30 p.m., he said, they immediately sent firetrucks to where the smoke was coming from.

LCFD is located in Purok Gabi in Gun-ob.

Samonte said that when they reached he area, the house was already razed to the ground.

In the LCFD’s initial investigation, the house was locked outside while Sorbella was sleeping in the room.

According to Samonte, the house was divided into two areas by a wooden wall.

Sorbella, his 10 year-old sister, another 5-year-old sibling and their grandmother lived on one side of the house while their uncle and the latter’s family lived on the other side. Their grandmother were the ones who took care of them after their parents left them.

Samonte said they initially got a report that the fire started in the room of Sorbella’s uncle.

In the fire station’s initial investigation, a faulty electrical wiring could be the possible cause of fire.

Firefighters were able to put out the flames immediately after they arrived. Damages were pegged at P15,000.

No other house was damaged.