Sleeping man killed in fire

Waking up a few seconds too late led to the death of a 41-year-old man who was trapped inside a burning woodwork shop in Manila Saturday.

When found by Manila Fire District arson investigators, the body of Nicasio Pason, a stay-in delivery boy of Arnel’s Sash Factory at 1303 C. M. Recto Ave. in Sta. Cruz, was burned beyond recognition.

Arson investigator Senior Fire Officer 2 Emmanuel Gaspar told the Inquirer that Pason was trapped on the second floor of the burning two-story shop when a fire broke out at 1:56 a.m.

“His four co-workers were able to escape when they were roused from sleep in time. He [Pason] woke up a few seconds too late,” he said.

He added that the employee apparently found himself trapped by the flames on the second floor where, Gaspar theorized, the victim suffocated.

Apart from the sash factory, two other neighboring establishments made of light materials were damaged by the blaze which reached the fourth alarm before responding firemen put it out at 3:36 a.m.

Gaspar estimated the cost of damaged property at P1 million, including the finished wooden doors and windows stored at the shop and other materials. The arson investigator said that the cause of the fire remains the subject of a continuing probe. Jeannette I. Andrade