Trader killed after returning to burning house

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A businessman died in an early morning fire that damaged their house in Arevalo, Iloilo City.

The body of 50-year-old Arvin Angkay was found inside one of the rooms of their house at Barangay Quezon, Arevalo, Iloilo City.

When the fire broke out around 2:40 a.m. on Dec 30, Angkay, his wife Abby, and their child, managed to get out of their burning house.

But Abby claimed that her husband returned to the house, presumably to get something valuable.

The victim’s charred body was found in the room they occupied when the fire was quelled by 3:50 a.m.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Rodel Yanger, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) – Iloilo City investigator, said that the couple used to sleep in the room where Angkay’s body was found.

But following the death of a kin, the couple temporarily used the adjacent room.

Yanger said the room where Angkay’s body was found was the most damaged part of the house.

Fire probers are still trying to ascertain the cause of the fire.

Yanger estimated the damage to property at around P394,800.

This is the 11th fire incident to occur in Iloilo City since Dec 9:
* December 28 – The house of Barangay Captain Felix Dureza was destroyed by a fire in San Isidro, Jaro
* December 26 – Around thirteen houses were damaged by a fire that hit Barangay Veterans Village, City Proper
* December 25 – Fire razed a house at Barangay Bonifacio, Arevalo
* December 24 – More than 20 houses were gobbled in a fire that hit the boundary of Calumpang and San Juan villages in Molo district
* December 20 – Eleven houses were reduced to ashes and three were partially damaged in Barangay Compania Central, Molo
* December 18 – Fire hit a business stall at Fuentes Street, City Proper but only recorded a minimal damage
* December 15 – A house at Barangay Hibao-an Sur, Mandurriao incurred minimal damage when a fire broke out at their makeshift kitchen
* December 13 – A salon at San Rafael, Mandurriao incurred damage of around P100,000 after a fire broke out due to a short circuit of electrical wiring
* December 11 – A bank at Delgado Street, City Proper posted minimal damage after a defective battery pack started a small fire
* December 9 – Four houses in Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao were destroyed by fire.