5 killed in Las Piñas apartment fire

Five persons were killed after a fire broke out at a two-story apartment in Barangay CAA in Las Piñas City past midnight yesterday.

Senior Inspector Renato Salvador of the Las Piñas Fire Department identified the victims as Rommel Barro, 35, his wife Pia, 40, and their one-year-old daughter Leonila. The family was renting one of the rooms in the house located along Balikatan Street.

Firefighters found the two other victims, Rowena Rebadulla, 40; and her companion, Meriam, 36, in a separate room on the second floor.

Salvador said the victims died of suffocation since they were trapped because of the thick smoke. “All of them except for Rommel were charred beyond recognition,” he added.

Initial investigation showed that the fire started at the kitchen of the house at about 1:19 a.m. The blaze spread to the other parts of the house, reportedly made mostly of wood and other light materials.

Salvador said they found there were at least 11 families renting rooms in the apartment.

“The house has so many occupants. It is possible that faulty electrical wiring could have caused the fire,” Salvador said, adding that the owner of the house was not issued a permit to operate that type of business in the area.

The authorities are searching for Alexander Mortera, said to be the owner of the house. Police probers said Mortera may be held criminally liable for the incident.

Authorities said the damage to property may have reached P2.5 million. The fire, which only reached the first alarm, was contained around 2:20 a.m.

More than two hours later, another fire gutted a garments factory in Taguig City.

Fire Officer 1 Joseph Satulda said the fire hit the Bench garments factory located at Mañalac Avenue in Barangay Bagong Tanyag.

No one was reported injured in the said incident. Satulda said they are still conducting a follow-up investigation to determine the cause of the fire.