Unattended candle starts fire in Buhisan
This is an old lesson that people seem to never ever learn. And the story, sadly, keeps getting repeated.
An unattended candle at home causes fire in Sitio Dam, Barangay Buhisan, Cebu City on Saturday evening. The fire started in the house owned by a certain Jerry Solano, who was not at home during the incident.
Initial information showed that since they had no electricity, Solano’s children ages 13, 10, and 6, who were left alone at home, lighted a candle to illuminate the house.
Neighbors responding firefighters that they just saw smoke coming from Solano’s house. The Bureau of Fire Protection received the alarm at 11:05 p.m. Firemen put out the blaze 35 minutes later and no other house was affected.
Fire Inspector Marlyn Macatangay of the BFP placed the damage at P20,000. No one was hurt during the fire as all three Solano children managed to run for safety when the fire broke out .
The Cebu City Department of Social Welfare and Services responded to the incident by distributed food packs to the affected family.
DSWS Chief Lea Japson told The FREEMAN that the city government will extend financial assistance to the family amounting to P20,000.
Aside from electrical misuse, unattended candles, gas lamps, or cooking is a common cause of fire in Cebu the public had always been advised to always keep an eye on them all the time.
In a safety brochure distributed to the public, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. advised that house or building occupants should always create and practice a fire escape plan, keep matches out of the children’s reach, ensure that windows are not nailed or painted shut, make sure security gratings on windows have a fire safety opening feature so they can be easily opened from the inside.
They should also consider escape ladders if the residence has more than one level, and ensure that burglar bars and other anti-theft mechanisms that block outside window entry are easily opened from the inside. They must likewise eliminate fire hazards through good housekeeping; and dispose waste paper, rubbish, and other flammable materials regularly.