Toddler dies in Naga City fire

NAGA CITY, Philippines—A two-year-old girl, who was left by her mother with the landlord’s son, died in a fire that razed their boarding house here early Monday morning, local fire authorities said.

Hyacinth Magbanua was found dead among the rubble of their room at the burned down boarding house along Gomez St.  Zone 1, Barangay Sabang, said Senior Fire Officer 3 Benhur Caronan, investigating officer of the Bureau of Fire Protection in Naga City.

Caronan said the 30-minute fire, which spread to a neighboring house, started at around 2:17 a.m. at the boarding house owned by Perfecto Agbay.

The child’s mother, May Ann Magbanua, who is nine months pregnant, told reporters she left her daughter in the care of her landlord’s son when she went out for work on Sunday. She declined to talk about the nature of her work.

Caronan said their investigation showed the fire started from a lighted candle left burning by one of the tenants. The boarding house, which has six other tenants, had no power supply for the last five months due to unpaid bills.

Caronan said the boarding house operated without the necessary permits from the city government.