Boy charred to death in mountain barangay

A 17-year-old boy, who was locked inside their residence, died yesterday afternoon when their house located in the sitio Libas, barangay Bonbon in the mountains of Cebu City burned down.

The victim, Radegundo Villarobe, Jr., reportedly a special child, was left alone at their house by his parents, who went to see a doctor in barangay Guadalupe.  He was burned beyond recognition.

Barangay Bonbon is estimated to be around 20 kilometers from the city and there is no nearby fire station.

SFO2 Alicasim Espinola, duty fire investigator of the Cebu City Bureau of Fire Protection, in a telephone interview with The Freeman said the fire reportedly started around 2:30 p.m.

Due to the strong winds, the house which made mainly of light materials was easily engulfed in flames.

Espinola said that the victim was left at the balcony of the second floor and their door was locked from the outside so that he would not roam around their neighborhood.

Espinola said that based on information he got from the area, the victim had a tendency to be violent and would destroy crops and hurt animals and people if he gets out of the house.

Espinola added that the victim was with his brother-in-law Jefferson Mabatid, 30, prior to the fire but the latter left the victim when he saw that he was already asleep at the balcony.

“Ingon sa mga silingan diha daw sa balkonahe nagsugod ang kalayo unya kusog kaayo wala na nila matabang kay mixed-materials man gud,” Espinola said.

He added that the distance and the road condition would make fire trucks useless even if they had sent one.

Neighbors of the Villarobes’ told Espinola that they heard the victim shout for help.  They could not however do anything because the fire had already spread.

Some neighbors attempted to use buckets with water, but this did not work.

Espinola also said that the victim’s family told him that there was an electrical outlet at the balcony.  They suspect that the victim played with it and accidentally started the fire. The damage was pegged at P40,000.

The fatality is the youngest of the Villarobe family. – Edwin Ian Melecio/NLQ