A blaze believed to have been caused by a malfunctioning lighter razed the house of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Tagbilaran City and left around P60,000 worth of structural damage, fire authorities said.
According to FO3 Dennis Caluña of the Tagbilaran City Fire Station, the house was almost completely burned down when they arrived as they were alerted of the incident at past 5:38 p.m. on Thursday.
The blaze was declared under control at 5:50 p.m. and fire out at 6:03 p.m.
No one was injured but several valuables inside the house owned by Perlita Lajot in Barangay Booy were burned, said Caluña.
Lajot’s son, security guard Ariel Sunga, who was living at the residence was not around when the fire broke out.
According to Caluña, they are looking into three possible causes behind the fire including a lighter which may have exploded.
“Daghang incident karon na kining disposable lighter nga ang brand LLC or naay crown na lighter—kining mga lightera naay suga, daghang incident na mo kalit ra ni siya og buto, mo-siga tungod sa battery sa lighter, ma-short ni siya mo-create og spark ngadto sa iyang fluid,” said Caluña.
Investigations also indicated that the fire may have started due to an unattended rechargeable lamp.
“Base sa among pag-investigate naa ni niya pirmi ibutang sa kwarto diin asa kuno nagsugod ang kayo base sa mga accounts sa witnesses,” Caluña added.
However, fire authorities also did not discount the possibility that the house which was made of light materials was intentionally set on fire pending further investigation.
Last month, a fire in Barangay Manga in Tagbilaran City was confirmed to have been caused by a lighter which exploded and set fire to a wooden furniture.
“Mi-angkon gyud tong tagbay na diha siya lighter na mo siga unya gitongtong niya sa iyahang divider na made of bamboo. Didto gyud mismo gasugod ang kayo. Mao gyud toy na-confirm namo na hinungdan,” said Caluña.
The fire official advised the public to avoid using and keeping lighters with built-in flashlights to avoid similar incidents.
“Og naa pay naggamit ana, kung mahimo, edispose nalang na,” he said.