94-year-old couple in Baguio City die together in house fire

Baguio City, Philippines – An elderly couple in Upper Padre Burgos, Baguio City were killed in a house fire believed to have been caused by an unattended lighted candle.

The fire which engulfed the house of the couple for some hours, burning them alive, happened on December 29.

Authorities said there was a power outage in the area for three hours before the fire started at 4 am and was put out at 8 am. The cause, however, is yet to be verified through the ongoing investigation of the Bureau of Fire Protection.

The couple was identified as a certain Juan Velasco and his wife, Rosita Velasco, both 94 years old.

Four other family members were able to save themselves from the fire.

The remains of the victims were immediately brought to the Baguio Memorial Chapel.

Deputy City Fire Marshal, Fire Senior Inspector (FSInsp.) Jesus Yango, through PTV Cordillera, explained the fire started at the old house of the victims (built in the 1960s) until it spread to the house of the couple’s grandchildren.

The victims' house, he said, was totally burned while their neighbor’s house was partially damaged.

“Gusto kong ipa-alala na i-check po nating maigi yung mga electrical appliances natin, na palaging naka-off at tsaka dapat nakatanggal yan sa saksakan…para maka-iwas tayo sa tulad nito,” advised Yango.

BFP-Baguio’s record shows that this house fire is the second to the incident they responded to in this month of December. The first, they reported, was in Barangay Bakakeng.

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