Girl with disabilities injured in Borbon fire

CEBU, Philippines - A four-year-old girl with disabilities suffered burns when their rented house was destroyed in an evening fire Wednesday in Sitio Highway, Barangay Cadaruhan, Borbon.

Trisha Mae Hortelano was inside their house with her eight-year-old brother when the fire started in their kitchen. She suffered first degree burns in her left leg and arms and was taken to the Juan Dosado Memorial Hospital in Sogod town.

Trisha Mae is mute and cannot walk.

The Hortelano family admitted that unattended cooking in the dirty kitchen of the house was the cause of the fire at past 10 p.m.

Cresente Rivera, a fire volunteer, told The Freeman that Trisha’s mother, Irene, just arrived from Cebu City and decided to cook for dinner. Irene then decided to watch a basketball tournament nearby with her husband, Darwin, while waiting for the food to be cooked.

“Samtang nagpaabot nga maluto ang pagkaon nanglakaw usa sila sa unahan nga dili pud ingon ana kalayo kay duna may tournament sa basketball,” Rivera said, who added that the curtain near the kitchen possibly caught fire and that the strong winds also caused the fire to be bigger.

“Ang igsuon (eight-year-old) daling nidagan ngadto sa ilang uyuan nga dili ingon layo gikan sa ilaha nga mao nay nitabang sa bata (Trisha) unya pagawas sa balay,” Rivera said.

When the parents returned from the basketball tournament, the house, which was made of light materials, was already burned down.

The house was owned by Sylvia Salogaol who is from Bohol province. The family had rented the house for two years now.

The fire was controlled within 20 minutes and was totally stopped at 11 p.m.

Borbon town does not have a fire station but they have a fire truck under the local government.

“Ang fire truck dinhi ra ni sa amua inkaso kung dunay alarma kay ako ra may mu-drive ani. Wala gyud mi ingon fire station gyud,” Rivera explained.

The family estimates the damage at P80,000. — (FREEMAN)