2 dead in Pasig blaze

A faith healer and his nine-year-old son were killed when a fire hit their house shortly after midnight yesterday in Pasig City.

Arson investigator Inspector Norberto Salvador Jr. said an unattended lighted candle could have started the fire at one corner of the house owned by Hector Ponce, 62, at the Nabsala Compound in Barangay Kalawaan at 12:15 a.m.

The bodies of Ponce and his son Sam David were recovered by responding firemen after battling the blaze for 45 minutes.

A resident of the area, Jun Navarro, said he saw thick smoke coming out from the window at the ground floor of the Ponces’ two-storey residence.

Navarro said he and other neighbors tried to pry open the front door, but the intense heat prevented them from entering and rescuing the people inside.

Responding firemen had difficulty getting to the burning house because of the narrow roads.

Salvador said the victims were trapped in their bedroom on the second floor of the house. – Non Alquitran