Kitchen fire leaves 4 dead in Taguig

Four people, two of them children, met a tragic end on Sunday after they were trapped inside a burning house in Taguig City.

The Taguig Fire Station identified the casualties as Jayred Lance Denna, 2 years old;  Maria Leila Jenine Denna,  4 years old; their cousin Michael Hortelano, 22; and Marcos Benito, 44.

Case investigator SFO1 Pedrito Polo said that the fire started around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday in the house of Lannie Denna—the children’s mother—on Macapagal Street in  Barangay Pinagsama Village.

It was believed to have been caused by a leak from a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank that led to an explosion. The resulting blaze reached the first alarm before it was put out about an hour later by responding firefighters.

Investigation showed that the two children, along with Hortelano, were inside the house when the fire started in the kitchen.

The children then ran to a room on the second floor where they tried to hide from the flames. Both, however, died of suffocation.

No escape

On the other hand, Hortelano ran into the bathroom and plunged his body into a plastic drum filled with water. Firefighters later said they found it difficult to retrieve his remains because the fire had warped the container.

Meanwhile, Benito, a neighbor of the Dennas, was outside the house when the blaze broke out.

He promptly ran into the burning structure to try and save the three but he perished along with the victims.

Tirso Hortelano, 67, the children’s grandfather, survived although he sustained injuries and was taken to Taguig-Pateros District Hospital for treatment.

Fire investigators said the blaze destroyed only the victims’ house. They estimated the damage to property at  P200,000.

Cause still being probed

While the LPG leak was initially blamed for the fire, investigators said they were still trying to determine what exactly caused it.

The Taguig City Social Welfare and Development Office  has provided burial assistance to the families of those killed in the blaze.