Grandma returns to burning store; ‘state of calamity’ in barangays Pardo and Suba

A 75-year-old woman went back to her burning store to look for her nephew in yesterday’s fire that claimed her life and killed two others in barangay Pardo, Cebu City.

Esperanza Aberion was overcome by the smoke.  Neighbors saw her struggle trying to get out before she collapsed on the ground.

“Hinay na kaayo na siya molakaw kay diabetic na siya,” said her husband Dominic, 53, who identified here remains. (She had a hard time walking already because she was diabetic.)

Unknown to the old woman, her nephew, Kevin, had already escaped.

The flames broke out about 10 a.m. in upper Lusimba, destroying 22 houses and damaging three more.

Several houses in the Tagacanao family compound went up in flames, killing Rosalie Tagacanao, 32, and her 12-year-old nephew Rafael Dolalia.

A day earlier, fire swept two blocks of an urban poor neighborhood in barangay Suba, leaving over 150 households without a roof over their heads.

With this, Cebu Daily News counted six fires in Cebu City in the month of March, which is celebrated as Fire Prevention Month.

The count is actually higher at eight incidents, including three minor fire alarms in March, said Senior Supt. Aderson Comar, Cebu City fire marshal.

This places the rate of man-made fire calamities at almost one a day.

Comar said the fire may have started in one of the houses in the  Tagacanao compound located on a slope behind the Pardo cemetery.

He said the victims may have trapped and suffocated in the smoke because the fire started in the front and spread to houses in the rear.

Barangay Suba declared a state of calamity in their area while the barangay council of Pardo was set to do the same last night to release emergency funds for the fire victims.

The cause of the Pardo blaze, like the Suba fire, is still under investigation.

Electrical misuse—overloaded outlets, faulty wiring—is the most common reason for fire accidents based on records of the Cebu City Fire Department.

The bodies of Rosalie Tagacanao and her nephew were reduced to ashes. They were identified after a family head count was made after the fire.

Jeffrey Tagocanao said that’s when they found out that Rosalie and the 12-year-old boy were missing.  Rosalie’s husband Dominic said he was at church when the fire broke out.

Three persons were taken to the hospital for second-degree burns: Justo Tagacanao, 65; and his grandsons—the two brothers of Raphael identified as Raymond Wayne Dulalia, 7, and Ralph Laurence, 11.

Justo suffered burns on both arms and lower trunk. He  was confined in the Miller Sanitarium with grandson Raymond, who was seriously burned in his upper chest, face and upper extremities.  Ralph Laurence was released after treatment for burns in both arms.

Aberion,  grandmother, had already gone out of her store after saving one nephew.

She turned back to look for another, Kevin, not know knowing he was already safe.

“She already saved one nephew but she went back because she thought there was one more inside the store. But the boy had already gone out; he was one of those who suffered burn injuries,” said    PO3 Ruth Bongo-Violango, homicide investigator, based on witness accounts.

Aberion’s lifeless body was found beside a perimeter fence almost down the wall. Her facial features were still recognizable.

The body of 12-year-old Rafael was found at the first step of a stairway in an attempt to escape.

Before the fire, his playmates had called him to play in the Pardo cemetery but Rafael chose to stay home and watch TV.

Apparently he and his aunt Rosalie were trapped by the fire. Both of their bodies were found almost three meters from each other.

The fire is believed to have started in one of the houses in the Tagcanao compound, which used to be a rattan company of Jeffrey’s father, Justo, before it was converted  into a residential compound  in the early  1990s.

Jefferey, who lives in Talisay City, told reporters he rushed to the family compound when he learned about the fire and found all of the houses of his relatives already in flames.

His three jeepneys and a private car were also  burned.

Fire Marshal Comar said the fire alarm was tapped at 9:58 a.m. and under control within eight minutes.

The compound is situated in an elevated area with a one-lane access road.

Comar said the narrow  passage was their first problem in fire response. Some fire trucks passed through neat Alta Vista, which is far off.

“We went around the area but the roads are very narrow,” said Comar.

A fire truck from Guadalupe lost its brakes and bumped into a fence. The late arrival of Pardo fire substation team was noticed.  Fire trucks from barangay Quiot and Cogon Pardo were the first to arrive.