Octogenarian couple perish in Argao fire

CEBU, Philippines - With a Bible by their side, a couple held on to each other through consuming flames as an evening fire engulfed their old house in Barangay Langtad in the southern town of Argao last Friday.

The charred remains of Alberto Alcazaren, 84, and his wife Lydia, 85, were found in the bathroom/rest room, the only part of the house left standing after the structure burned down. 

Senior Fire Office 1 Kevin Rodriguez said the couple’s remains appeared as if they were hugging each other when they greeted death.

Rodriguez said that because of their age - Alberto could no longer hear properly and Lydia could no longer see clearly - it is highly possible that the couple did not manage to leave their residence before the fire could spread.

The victims’ neighbors said it was the practice of the couple to build a small fire inside the rest room to drive insects away with smoke.

What could have happened, Rodriguez said, was that the kerosene they used to start the fire might have spilled and triggered the fire to spread fast.

“Posible manggawas na unta sila gikan sa C.R. nya nasaghiran ba karon ang gas, maong midilaob ang kayo ‘nya naapil sila og kasunog. Unya hinay na sad kaayo ‘to sila manglihok kay tiguwang na man lagi. Hap na daw ang babaye ‘nya bungol ang lalaki,” Rodriguez said.

Miraculously, except for its cover that was partially burned, the Bible found beside the couple’s remains was reportedly intact.

Rodriguez said the fire started at around 8:40 pm, but they received the call for assistance at about five minutes later. The fire had already consumed about 60 to 80 percent of the house when they reached the area.

He said they had to connect four hoses together for water to reach the burning house, which was surrounded by trees and other plants. They were able to control the fire in five minutes and stopped totally 20 minutes later.

Josephus Zeta, 24 and Aladin Comaling, 28, neighbors of the victims, alleged that the fire was already eating almost the entire house when they saw it.

They said it is possible that falling debris might have hit the couple and trapped them inside the house.

Comaling said they have since advised the couple to stop building a fire inside their house, but the couple was reportedly insistent.

“Dili gani na sila baligyaan og gas pero hilig man na sila mag-lakaw-lakaw sa layo, basin didto na na sila nakapalit og gas. Ilang mga nuog or butang na di na magamit mao’y ilang pandauban. Ang ilang buot sad kay medyo mura’g padung pagka-bata na sad bitaw,” Comaling said.

The residents described the couple as very sweet to each other, often seen walking together despite their age, and were very religious.

The couple never had children and their relatives are abroad.

Dionisio Pamor, 89, the couple’s closest neighbor, said he still saw the couple come from the church a few hours before the incident.

He said he was about to turn off his light to go to bed when he noticed that the victims’ house was already in flames.

Firemen pegged the damage at P15,000.

Last Thursday dawn, a lawyer, his wife and their house help were also killed in a fire that hit the couple’s ancestral house at Calderon Compound in sitio Banawa, Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City. — Niña G. Sumacot/JMO      (FREEMAN NEWS)