A two-year-old baby girl was killed during a one-hour fire reportedly caused by a kerosene lamp last Saturday night in Navotas City.
Senior Fire Officer 4 Rafael Trinidad of the Navotas Bureau of Fire Protection identified the fatality as Trisha Mae Baguna, of Block 34, Lot 37, Maliputo Street, Phase 2, Area 2, Barangay North Bay Boulevard South.
“We are still in the process of determining the exact cause of the victim’s death. She could have died of suffocation or of the gaping wound in her head,” Trinidad told The STAR.
Trinidad said that at around 9:15 p.m., a fire broke out caused by a kerosene lamp that fell on the wooden floor of the victim’s bedroom on the second floor of their house.
The blaze spread rapidly to adjacent rooms of the house that was made of wood and light materials.
Arson investigators said Baguna was sleeping alone inside a bedroom and was trapped inside the burning room.
Firemen tried to rescue the baby girl, but when the rescuers arrive the victim was already dead.
Trinidad said the wound on the victim’s head could have been caused by falling debris. She also sustained minor burns on other parts of her body.
The victim’s parents and her two older siblings were reportedly out of their house when the fire broke out.
The mother, Maria, 31, was looking for her two older children while the father, Paterno, 28, was out fetching water.
Trinidad said the victim’s family uses kerosene lamp because they have no electricity.
The fire also destroyed another house before firefighters, led by Navotas BFP chief Senior Inspector Edgardo Antonio, arrived with 12 fire trucks.
The quick response of local firemen resulted in the early control of the fire and prevented the blaze from spreading into nearby houses along Maliputo Street.
The responding fire trucks were not stalled because of the wide streets leading to the fire scene.