Girl, 3, dies in Guimbal house fire

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A 3-year-old girl died after she was trapped in her burning home on the afternoon of March 11 in Barangay Cabubuhan, Guimbal, Iloilo.

Neneng was sleeping alone when the fire broke out in their two-story house, which is located in a village more than 5 kilometers from the town proper.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Ma. Tricila Basco, chief of the operations section of the Bureau of Fire Protection-Guimbal, said they received the fire call at about 1:58 p.m. Wednesday.

Firefighters reached the scene at 2:05 p.m.

Responders had to walk at least 150 meters because the house was inaccessible to four-wheel vehicles.

Basco said about 70% of the house had already burned when firefighters arrived.

The fire spread quickly because the structure was made of indigenous materials.

Basco said the upper portion of the house collapsed, burying Neneng.

Authorities said the victim had been left in the care of her 14-year-old sister.

Their mother had briefly gone to the barangay hall before the fire.

Ruby, the girl’s grandmother, had also been asked to watch them because she lived adjacent to their house.

At the time of the incident, the older sibling was doing laundry when she noticed smoke coming from the room where her sister was sleeping.

She immediately asked her grandmother for help.

Ruby was resting downstairs with her five other grandchildren when the fire started.

She tried to go upstairs, but the fire had already engulfed the second floor.

Basco said the fire also totally razed a nearby house and partially damaged another.

The fire was placed under control at 2:32 p.m. and was fully extinguished at 2:54 p.m.

Basco said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Initial findings, however, indicated that the fire may have originated in Neneng’s room.

Basco said authorities are not ruling out the possibility that the fire was caused either by the electric fan being used in the room or by a tablet being charged while the child was sleeping.

Based on the BFP assessment, property damage was estimated at PHP 2,435,000.