Tacloban City—Four siblings died from a fire that gutted their house at dawn Wednesday in Barangay 78, Marasbaras, this city.
Tacloban City Fire Marshall F/CInsp. Charlie Gerson identified the victims as Dan Jade Morales, 16; Glenn Mark Morales, 14; Glen Marie Morales, 11; and Gwyneth Morales, 9.
Gerzon said that their office, after receiving the fire call at 4:58 in the morning, immediately dispatched firefighters to the area. Fire was put out at 5:20 a.m.
However, the house made of light materials was completely burned when the firefighters arrived.
Gerzon said their theory is that the fire was caused by a rice cooker left unattended.
The parents of the children, Glenn and Maribel Morales, operated a canteen and usually went to the market in the early morning. They rented the house and occupied the upper floor with their children. The canteen and a vulcanizing shop were on the ground floor.
Gerzon said that the victims were trapped inside their house because fire started at the lower floor. The eldest child, Dan Jade, was able to descend from the second floor but could not go out of the house because it was locked.
“In fact, we had to make a forced entry inside the house because of the padlock,” Gerzon said.