Overheated altar bulbs may have caused blaze; 5 houses destroyed

Fire burned down the house of a grandson of former Cebu City mayor Eulogio Borres and five  others in barangay Suba at 7:30 a.m. yesterday.

Three people suffered burns while 25 families were displaced by the fire in F. Rallos Street, Cebu City.

Initial findings said the fire was caused by an overheated altar light bulb on the top floor of  a three-storey house owned by  Danilo Borres, 55.

The fire also partly damaged six other houses,  affecting a total of 96 individuals, including renters and house sharers, according to the city’s social welfare office.

Borres  works as an engineer of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MWCD).

He lost most of his personal belongings and  the family dog.

He, his son Dandy and grandson David Christian  suffered minor burns while trying to save  their belongings and their podle “Toto”, who suffocated in the smoke.

Four families occupied the house, said Insp. Jose Laurito, fire investigator.

Borres’ daughter, Dyna, said  she was sleeping  on the third floor when her 14-year-old son, David Christian, woke her up and told her  that fire had spread to the ceiling.

Everyone rushed out and tried to put out the fire but to no avail.

David said 15 people lived in their house.

A next door neighbor, Rosario Daymiel, saw the fire and woke up her children.

She lost everything, including the P10,000 bonus received by her husband who also works at  MCWD.

The fire damaged nearby houses of light materials but the spread was contained  by concrete fire walls.

Property damage was estimated at P700,000 by the fire department but the social welfare office placed it at  P3.5 million.

There was early speculation that the fire started in a pot session but Insp. Laurito dismissed  it.

Suba barangay captain Rogelio Resurrecion said neighbors talked about the fire being caused by  an overheated red vigil bulb that wasn’t switched off.

The bulb is commonly found in house altars where the family kept an image of the Sto. Niño.

Two female Borres’ family members were left  at home  when the fire broke out, said Resurrecion according to neighbors.

The fire department is looking into the same account about anl electrical overload  as the source of the fire.

Electrical misuse is the most common cause of accidental fires  in residences, accordin to fire department records in Cebu City.Correspondents Chito Aragon and Tweeny M. Malinao