ILOILO City – Fire destroyed two houses in Barangay San Antonio, Oton, Iloilo on Thursday.
One person was reported injured – the 82-year-old Condrada Gasataya, owner of one of the gutted houses. She had a first-degree burn, investigators said.
The owner of the other house was Lawrence Logronio.
The cost of damage reached P250,000 based on initial estimates, said Senior Fire Officer 4 Roberto Tamayo Jr., officer-in-charge of the Oton Fire Station.
The blaze broke out at around 2:40 p.m. It was put under control at around 3:06 p.m. and completely put out at around 3:50 p.m.
Investigators were still trying to determine the cause as of this writing.
Logronio told Panay News he learned about the blaze when he heard a child shout, “There’s fire, there’s fire!”
He said they tried to put out the fire in their house on their own but failed.
That their house was made of wood and the weather was hot aggravated the situation, he added.
There was an electrical outlet in the area of their house where they believe the fire started, Logronio said.
But Oton Fire Station investigators learned from witnesses that the blaze started from the wall on the façade of Gasataya’s house./PN
