2 dead in Marikina fire

MANILA, Philippines - Two people were killed when a fire sparked by loose electrical connections hit a two-story house in Marikina City.

The victims, housemaid Gabriela Hayag, 50, and Edmund Velasquez, 25, were seen using fire extinguishers at the second floor of the house, which was two decades old, on Manuel L. Quezon street in Barangay Parang.

Arson probers said Hayag and Velasquez were trapped and died from suffocation. Hayag was found in a bedroom while Velasquez’s charred body was recovered in the kitchen.

House owner Precy Gega and other family members were awakened by Hayag’s shouts at about 4:10 a.m., when a fire started at the second floor of the building.

Reports showed that Gega and the two victims tried to put out the fire. Gega and her family later escaped at the height of the blaze, but the two victims stayed on and continued trying to douse the flames.

The fire, which reached the first alarm, was put out at about 6:03 a.m. Damage to property was estimated at P200,000.

Arson probers advised the public to have their electrical connections checked regularly, especially in old houses, to prevent the outbreak of fires. – Non Alquitran