Another 401-year-old church in Camarines nearly gutted by fire

CAMARINES NORTE, Philippines – Another quadricentennial church in this province could have been gutted by fire, thanks to a multicab driver who alerted firefighters in Daet town before dawn last Tuesday.

Reports said the fire could have been caused by an unattended candle near an acacia tree, until the flames reached the ceiling in a part of the 401-year-old St. John the Baptist Church in Barangay 1, Daet town. Firemen promptly responded, even discovering that the church’s security guards were sleeping when the fire struck.

Last Dec. 26, a fire totally razed the St. Peter Apostle Church, also 401 years old, in Vinzons town, causing the three-month suspension of its parish priest, Fr. Francisco Regala.

Camarines Norte’s third quadricentennial church is Our Lady of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria in Paracale town.