Trapped inside their bedroom dawn blaze kills couple

CEBU, Philippines - A couple was charred to death during a fire that struck their house and razed 20 other houses in an interior area in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City yesterday dawn.

Eduardo Miego, 60, and his wife Margarita, 58, died when they were trapped inside their bedroom when the fire broke out past 1 a.m.

The Cebu City Fire Department received the report about the fire in sitio Sto. Niño at 1:27 a.m. The area is located at the boundary between Labangon and Barangay Calamba.

Cebu City Fire Marshall William Tacaldo, Jr. raised the fire status to third alarm as fire trucks from different barangays arrived to help control the blaze. The flames were controlled an hour later.     

During clearing operation, the charred bodies of the Miego couple were found in the rubble.

Fire investigator Emiliano Daño said the fire started at the living room of the couple’s two-storey house.

The couple was apparently not able to reach the main door because they failed to cross the burning living room. They were trapped in their room and were charred to death, Daño said.

The couple also probably had a hard time moving as Eduardo was paralyzed, said Margarita’s sister, Elsa Giango.

Neighbors hear the couple’s shout for help, she said, but they were not able to get inside the house as the door was locked.

“Ang mga silingan na ningsuway og luwas nila, pero dili man lagi kasulod kay naka-lock man ang pultahan. Gamay sad ang opening sa ilang bintana,” Giango lamented.

The couple’s youngest daughter, Jolly Ann, 25, her husband and four-year-old daughter, who were sleeping at the upper floor of the house, were lucky to survive unscathed after they managed to jump to the ground.

The fire also razed the five-unit apartment inside the compound, which the couple rents out, as well as the family van.

Edgar Aliponga, 55, Margarita’s brother-in-law, rushed from Sibonga town after learning about the fate of the couple, whom he just met last Tuesday.

“Bantog ra kay nakamata ko ganinang (yesterday) kadlawon unya gikulbaan ko nga wala ko kasabot. Nagradyo ko unya didto nako nahibaw-an nasunog lagi daw diri unya napaig silang duha,” he said.

Aliponga said he met the couple when they went to Simala last Tuesday. While there, he said, he paid them his debt that he acquired following his wife’s death.

“Pagkahuman nila og dawat sa kwarta, lakaw sila diretso unya way lingi-lingi. Kinsa ba’y magdahom mao na diay to katapusan namong kita,” he said.

He said the couple has a son and another daughter who are now working in England and Saudi Arabia.

The two, Alipunga said, are set to fly back to Cebu today for the funeral of their parents, whose remains now lie at St. Peter Funeral Homes.

The flames spread across the road and razed 20 other houses made of light materials, said Daño. Two other houses were partially damaged, he said.

The fire ate up some P800,000 worth of properties, the fire investigator said.

Tacaldo revealed that they had a hard time penetrating the area because of the narrow road, prompting them to park the fire trucks some distance away.

“Naglisod ‘ta kay dead end na,” said Tacaldo.

The road also went busier as fire victims scamper while bringing with them the stuffs they were able to save from the fire.

Candelaria Torres, one of the fire victims, said she was not able to save anything.

 â€œAko lang g’yud gipaniguro nga maluwas ang akong mga anak. Wa ma’y klase ron kay Independence Day man, pero inig Huwebes ani, wa g’yud sila’y uniform ug mga gamit,” she said.

The fire victims are temporarily sheltered at the nearby chapel.

Gelita Flores, social worker of Cebu City’s Department of Social Welfare and Services, said 28 families or some 120 individuals were affected by the fire.

Immediate assistance such as packed meals, utensils, and disaster kits were given to the victims.

Labangon barangay captain Vic Buendia appealed to the city government to have the dead end road opened so people can freely escape in cases of emergency. — /LPM (FREEMAN)