Bed-ridden septuagenarian scorched to death in Isabela fire

ECHAGUE, ISABELA – A 71-year-old woman was charred to death while her husband suffered second-degree burns after fire gutted their house at Dammang East village here on Sunday, police said.

Virginia Matterig was bed-ridden and failed to get out of her room when the blaze razed the wood-based second floor of their house. Her husband Villamor, 71, suffered second-degree burns on his face.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Reinier Cante, investigator at the Bureau of Fire Protection-Echague, said the wall fan of the Matterig couple could have overheated and caused the fire. /kga