Electrical problem eyed in Labangon fire

CEBU, Philippines - Electrical problem caused the fire that killed a couple and razed several houses in Barangay Labangon Wednesday dawn, a fire investigator said.

Fire Officer 3 Emiliano Daño said that the investigation points to either defective electrical outlets or unattended appliances as the cause of the fire.

The fire started at the living room of couple Eduardo and Margarita Miego, who were both charred to death.

Daño said they have gathered information from the couple’s neighbors that there were instances that electrical outlets at their living room sparked. The fire investigator further said that there is also a possibility that an appliance in the living room overheated due to prolonged use.

The result of the ocular inspection shows that Margarita tried to escape but was trapped because her charred body was found at the doorstep of her bedroom. The charred body of Eduardo, a paralytic, was recovered near his wife.

Daño said they are still gathering further information to determine what really started the fire, which apart from the Miego’s house, also razed 20 other houses in sitio Sto. Niño, A. Lopez St. last Wednesday.

The Miego couple was trapped in their rooms after they failed to cross the burning living room to get to the main door and escape.

Their 25-year-old youngest daughter, Jolly Ann, her husband and four-year-old daughter, survived after they managed to jump from the second floor of their two-storey semi-concrete house.

The fire also ate up the couple’s five-door apartment and a family van.

From their house, the fire spread to the other houses across the road mostly made of light materials. The damage was set at P800,000.  (FREEMAN)