The fatalities were 70-year-old Chang Eng-eng Chua; her daughter Ellen Chua Tiu, 44; Ellen’s two children Karen Que, 15, and Kenneth, 10; and three other Chua grandchildren – Ada Marie Chua, 16; Arvin Chua, 13; and Arjohn Chua, 12.
Neighbors said iron grills prevented them from pulling out the terrified victims from the burning two-story Eastern Enterprise building, which also served as the victims’ residence, in Sitio La Purisima, Barangay Cogon-Pardo.
The cause of the fire was still unknown as of press time, but investigators did not rule out arson.
Janet Chua, the mother of three of the fatalities, said the fire might have been set off by disgruntled workers who had refused to believe that the family business was losing.
Fire investigator Felix Romero said they were alerted of the fire at 1:12 a.m. He said the blaze started at the ground floor of the building.
Cogon barangay councilwoman Concepcion Dacayana said neighbors saw Helen peering out of a grilled window screaming for help. Rescuers broke the jalousies but were unable to remove the thick iron grills covering the windows. They said they grabbed Helen’s hand but it was impossible to move her out. Helen eventually passed out due to the thick smoke.
Dacayana said a nephew also tried to save one of the children but he could not pull him out.
One of the fatalities, Arjohn, was also seen screaming for help from a window. His brother Archie, 18, arrived at the scene only to see Arjohn overcome by thick smoke.
Dacayana said neighbors heard a loud explosion – possibly from an LPG tank – before the fire spread quickly.
The other occupant of the house Allan, son of Eng-eng, was also not in the house. His wife Janeth was also sleeping in their other house in Lapu-Lapu City.
Helen Que’s husband Kenny was in Zamboanga City where they also have a family business.
Dacayana said that the fire was able to spread quickly because the family house was made mostly of wooden materials.
Allan Chua and his brother-in-law Kenny Que retrieved the vault which contained the family’s cash and important documents.
The fire department pegged the damage at P900,000.