4 die in separate fires in Cebu

CEBU CITY — Tragedy struck the cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu after four persons perished in separate fires.

In Lapu-Lapu, 55-year-old Rosalinda Armilla, her 14-year-old niece Desiree Jalipot and seven-year-old granddaughter Aaleyah Jeanne Inoc were killed after they got trapped in their house that was burned past 5 a.m. last Sunday.

According to FO3 Oiretuele Baguio of the Lapu-Lapu City Fire District, the fire started on the first floor of the house in sitio Sudtongan, Barangay Basak.

Baguio said thick smoke may have suffocated the victims as the window grills prevented them from escaping.

It took 30 minutes before the fire was contained.

Fire damage was pegged at P300,000.

Last Saturday evening, a 43-yearman was killed while at least 18 houses were razed in a second fire to hit Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City in less than a month.

The fire broke out past 6 p.m. Saturday and it was only around 4 p.m. Sunday that the charred remains of Christian Lopez was found while residents were sifting through the rubble.

The fire happened just a few meters from an area where at least 200 houses were razed by fire last December 25. The Christmas Day fire damaged at least P3 million worth of properties and also claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy, who was trapped in an Internet shop when flames started eating up structures.

Investigation is still being conducted to determine what caused last Saturday’s fire incidents.

FATAL FIRE – Residents check through the debris left among houses that were razed by a fire that hit Barangay Fuljo Fatima in Cebu City last Saturday. A 43-year-old man was killed, while 32 families were displaced in the fire – the second to hit the area since December 25, 2018. (Juan Carlo de Vela)