BACOLOD CITY ? But for a candle that someone may have left burning for the night, 6-year-old BeeG Chavez and his brother Novie, 12, might still be alive.

The two brothers and 14 other people were killed in a fire that burned down a two-story boarding house and destroyed some 60 other houses before dawn Monday at Barangay 10 here.

The 16 fatalities were trapped on the second floor of the crowded building after flames swiftly ate up the stairs and blocked their exit, firemen said.

Social welfare officials said 17 people had died, but firemen said they had counted only 16 bodies at the scene.

BeeG had wanted to stay with his parents on the ground floor, but that would have meant sleeping with them on benches.

His mother prodded him and his brother Novie to go up to the second floor, where beds were available for them, according to the account given to the Philippine Daily Inquirer by the boys? father, jeepney driver Ruel Chavez.

Bodies in an embrace

Chavez and his wife failed to reckon with the burning candle. Initial investigation indicated a woman boarder had kept the candle burning because she was afraid someone might steal her bag.

Soon the boarding house was in flames.

Nine of those killed were children, one as young as 11 months. One was a 70-year-old woman.

When the fire was put out three hours later at about 4 a.m., firefighters found six of the bodies still hugging each other.

Some of the charred bodies had shriveled up. Some had hands stretched out as if they were reaching out for help.

Screams for help

The building housed mostly poor families, including men and women who worked as vendors in a nearby public market.

Chavez recounted to the Inquirer hearing screams for help coming from the second floor where his two sons were trapped, but he could only watch helplessly because the flames had engulfed the wooden building.

Earlier, Chavez had managed to bring his two other children out of the blaze. ?I ran back to try and save my sons but I couldn?t get in because there were huge flames at the door,? he said in Ilonggo.

Chavez said his wife was inconsolable, believing her sons would still be alive if she had allowed them to sleep beside her instead of urging them to stay on the upper floor.

Walls of flames

A stunned Dionisio Niño, 46, a vendor of cell phone chargers, wept as he identified the charred bodies of his wife Josephine, his children?Jovelyn, 14, and Roel, 13?and his grandchild Rosemarie, who would have been a year old on Nov. 23.

Niño, who occupied a room on the second floor with his family, recalled waking up surrounded by flames.

?I jumped out of the window. I ran for help but we could not go back into the building,? he said, recalling how the fire had spread fast.

Fire Officer 3 Cornelio Silva said that cries for help could be heard beyond the walls of flames, but rescuers could not get through.

About 80 families were left homeless, city social welfare officer Sally Abelarde said.

Period of mourning

?This is a tragic day for Bacolod, this is something that has never happened before,? said Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who was at the fire scene.

Leonardia declared a one-week period of mourning for the victims.

The fire, which began from the boarding house at 1:19 a.m. and spread to nearby houses, was put under control at 2:40 a.m. and finally put out at 4:08 a.m., said Fire Chief Pamela Rojane Candido.

Witness Josauro Atilan, 37, said he saw the vendor Niño leap through the window of the boarding house, shouting for help.

?We poured buckets of water to try to put out the fire but it spread fast and we could not stop it,? Atilan said.

Rescuers were unable to save those trapped inside because the entrance and the stairs of the building had been swallowed up quickly by flames and the whole structure soon collapsed, according to Atilan.

List of fatalities

The list of fatalities released by fire officials included the brothers Novie, 12, and BeeG , 6; Josephine Niño, 42, and her children Jovelyn, 14, and Ruel, 13, and grandchild Rosemarie; janitor Junifer Demandar, 45, his manicurist wife Jenalyn and their son Joshua, 10; Nica Amelda, 25; Eduarda Abajero, 70, and her son Napoleon Abajero, 40; fish vendor Joselito Cabajosa, 28, and his children?Carl Joshua, 3, Analyn, 7, and Adah Pauline, 6.

Boarder Gloria Abrigo was injured, suffering burns on 27 percent of her body.

?I believe that the fire could have been caused by a candle,? Fire Chief Candido said. Another possible cause was a makeshift lamp, she added.

Officer 3 Silva said an investigation was under way to confirm the cause of the fire. There was electricity in the building when the fire broke out.

Leonardia said that aside from food and other assistance, stress debriefing would be provided the fire victims.

?We also call on the public to pray for the victims of the fire and to provide whatever assistance they can, as we did for the victims of Typhoons ?Ondoy? and ?Pepeng,?? Leonardia said. ?It is time to say charity begins at home.?

Dogs not spared

Leah Dolovico, 50, an employee at City Hall, said her whole house and everything she owned was destroyed in the fire. Her two pet dogs also died; one of them was found under a bed.

Leonardia expressed doubt that the building had a mayor?s permit that would allow it to be operated as a boarding house. The owner could not be reached for comment.

Sen. Richard Gordon, who is also the Philippine National Red Cross chair, said he had instructed the agency?s Bacolod chapter to immediately distribute relief assistance to the victims.