7 dead in apartment blaze in Camarines Sur town

LEGAZPI CITY –– Seven members of a family, who had just moved into a two-story apartment in Tigaon town in Camarines Sur, perished in a fire on Sunday night.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire that was reported to the fire station at 11:30 p.m., but authorities are leaning towards an unattended candle.

The occupants in the second door of the 5-unit apartment in Vinagre village were identified as Angelica Cea, 23; Jason Verdejo; Gerard Lee Cea, 13; Leana Ysabel Cea, 7; Allah Cristina Cea; and Arch Jay Don Verdejo, 3.

Another unidentified person was among the fatalities.

Senior Fire Officer 3 Joey Villarama, the head of the Tigaon Fire Station, said the occupants moved in only at 7 p.m. on Sunday and that they might not have been familiar with the layout of the apartment.

“There is a window opening or a fire exit that they could have used to escape, but maybe due to panic and confusion and that they have just awoken, they were not well oriented with the situation,” Villarama said.

He also said that aside from having just moved in, the occupants may have also been tired from visiting a relative’s wake, “so they might have been too tired to attend to the candle that started the fire.”

The fire, he said, started from the first floor of the unit.

Vinagre’s Zone 3 is still without power after Supertyphoon “Rolly” (Goni) battered the Bicol region on Nov. 1.

Villarama said the incident happened only one kilometer away from the fire station, but due to intermittent network reception in the area, the fire was reported late through a concerned resident, who personally went to the fire station.

ZB