Bacolod Girl Dies After Injuries in Candle Fire

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY – A 6-year-old girl who suffered burns in a fire caused by an unattended candle at their home in Purok Active, Barangay Mandalagan, died in a hospital on Thursday, May 29.

Fire Officer 2 Rolin Paulan, chief arson investigator of the Bacolod City Fire Station, said the victim died from pneumonia and severe infection at Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital.

Paulan said the girl was rescued by a neighbor near the kitchen through a small hole during the fire.

She died five days later due to complications from second- and third-degree burns sustained in the blaze that razed their home on May 24.

Her 1-year-old sister died in the fire, which quickly engulfed their house made of light materials.

The fire reportedly started after the victims’ teenage siblings left them alone with a lit candle placed on a plastic cabinet while attending a purok fiesta.

Their mother was away at work at the time.

The candle was used that night because their solar light failed to charge due to rainy weather.

The Mandalagan blaze was the second candle-related fire with fatalities reported that week.

The first incident occurred in Purok Lison, Barangay 1, on May 20, killing two siblings aged 6 and 8, also due to a candle fire following a power outage.

With four children killed in candle fires within one week, Paulan described the situation as alarming.

He reiterated the fire department’s call for parents not to leave children unattended and to be cautious when using candles.