Child hero saves sibs

CEBU, Philippines — Seven members of a family survived a fire that hit their shanty in Barangay Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City on Tuesday night, but a three-year-old girl was not as lucky.

When the flames fizzled out, Dante Castillano found the charred remains of her daughter Mary Julian among debris of what used to be their two-level home in Sitio Kabatuan.

According to Senior Fire Officer 1 Zener Seno of the Lapu-Lapu City Fire District, the fire alarm was received at 9 p.m. and believed to have started near the fence of the house’s second floor.

Geraldine, 12, the eldest sister, told reporters she and her father helped her other siblings escape the burning shanty, but they failed to save Mary Julian because the smokes had thickened.

She narrated that after taking her other siblings to safety, she heard Mary Julian crying and asking for help from the second floor. With the use of a ladder, she climbed to the upper floor in a frantic attempt to rescue her sister.

Mary Julian was already holding her arms and ready to be taken out but Geraldine unfortunately fell from the ladder. She lost grip of her sister.

“Wa na ko kabalik og saka kay init na kaayo (I was unable to climb anymore because it was too hot),” said Geraldine, who suffered minor burns.

Her 11-year-old brother Jeffrey, a four-month-old baby, and their grandmother were unharmed as they got out of the house quickly, having slept on the ground floor.

Mary Geralyn, 7; Junrel, 2; and Dante Jr., 5, also suffered minor burns and were rushed to Lapu-Lapu City Hospital, along with their father Dante.

Dante, who works as a construction worker, was devastated over the death of Mary Julian, especially that it happened just three months after his wife died due to complications of giving birth to their youngest child.

One of the neighbors suspected that the fire might have started from the use of mosquito coils. But this has yet to be proven by fire investigators who will conduct a follow-up investigation.

Neighbors successfully contained the fire even before fire responders arrived, said Seno who estimated the damages at around P2,000.

Maribago Barangay Councilor Jeffrey Augusto said they have extended financial assistance to the family and supplied their basic needs like food and water.

Dante’s family is currently staying at the house of a relative.

At a press conference yesterday, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza said she will shoulder the burial expenses for Mary Julian.

 “Ako lang, maatiman ang lungon ug mga needs sa mga bata,” Radaza said. —JMD (FREEMAN)