Fire kills ex-PNP official’s wife, daughter

ALTHOUGH the blaze raged for just 30 minutes and was not big enough to affect the whole house, it still left two people dead—the wife and daughter of a retired police official.

Merilyn Rafanan, 61, wife of retired Deputy Director General Ismael Rafanan; and their daughter, Stara, 27, died of suffocation after a fire broke out on Monday in the second floor of their house on Courage Street at Capitol Homes in Barangay Batasan, Quezon City.

Quezon City fire marshal Supt. Jesus Fernandez said the victims’ bodies were retrieved after the blaze was put out at 8:22 a.m.—only 30 minutes after the blaze was reported at 7:52 a.m.

Based on an initial investigation, the fire began in the ceiling of Merilyn’s bedroom. Fernandez said it may have been caused by an electrical short circuit.

Merilyn may have woken up to find flames licking the ceiling and panicked, running to the bathroom for shelter instead of heading to the ground floor and out of the house. On the other hand, Stara, who was found lying on her bed in a separate room, did not appear to have woken up.

The former official was not at home when the fire broke out, Fernandez said.

The family’s maid told authorities that she was washing clothes downstairs when she heard what sounded like an explosion. She said she tried to go upstairs to wake up the victims but by that time, flames had already engulfed the second floor.

Ismael Rafanan was a member of a delegation of police officials barred from leaving Moscow for carrying an excessive amount of euros following an Interpol conference in 2008, earning him and seven others the moniker “euro generals.” They were later charged with graft.

In March 2009, Rafanan retired after 37 years in the service after serving as the deputy chief for administration in the Philippine National Police, the second-highest ranking official in the organization. He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1975. With Inquirer Research