Woman, 59, killed in Minglanilla fire

Lilo-an blaze eats up property worth P400,000

A 59-year-old woman died of suffocation in a fire that destroyed her family’s two-story house in barangay Tungkil, Minglanilla town yesterday afternoon.

This was the second fire that happened in Cebu yesterday. A  fire that broke out at 1 a.m. gutted a commercial establishment in Lilo-an town and destroyed property worth at least P400,000.

In the Minglanilla fire, the charred remains of Astrella Panuncia was found on the second floor of their house in Phase 3 Deca Homes.

F02 Rafael Basabe said in a phone interview that Panuncia died of suffocation after she was trapped inside the room.

3rd fire casualty

Panuncia is the 3rd fire casualty since Saturday night. Two people were killed in barangay Ermita blaze last Saturday.

Panuncia, who had recently suffered a mild stroke was resting on the second floor of the house when the fire broke out.

Househelper Erlinda Dorino, who was washing clothes outside the house, said she wasn’t able to save her employer because the fire quickly spread in the ground floor area.

Panuncia’s husband and children were at work when the fire struck.

Analie Artes, the victim’s niece, said an unplugged appliance could have started the fire because she couldn’t think of any other reason on what caused the fire.

According to the Minglanilla fire station officials, the fire broke out at 3:55 p.m.

FO2 Basabe estimated the damage to the Panuncia residence at P10,000.

Liloan fire

The Liloan fire earlier in the day burned two eateries and an H. Lhuillier pawnshop outlet.

Liloan fire investigators said the fire could have been caused by unattended cooking or electrical misuse, which started at one of the eateries./Correspondents Chito Aragon, Michelle Joy Padayhag and Joy Cherry Quito.