COTABATO CITY — Arson probers are still determining the cause of a fire that killed a mother and her three children Monday afternoon in remote Barangay Buhay, Makilala, North Cotabato.
Fire Officer 3 Rey Pacres of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) – Makilala, identified the victims as Esnayra Quila, 29, her children Sohaile, 3, Sohaina, 2, and three-month-old “Baby Quila.”
Pacres said five others were hurt in the 3 p.m. conflagration that hit the Pacres home in Purok Maliwanag, Barangay Buhay.
Hospitalized with second to third-degree burns were the victims’ relatives identified as Mosarip, Malic, Rainah, Hairodin, and Fahap, all surnamed Quila. The fire scene was situated in an isolated part of Purok Maliwanag and no one could provide information to arson probers as to what started the fire.
Pacres said the victims’ house was made of light materials and had no power supply. “A lighted gas lamp could have triggered the fire,” he said in a local radio interview Tuesday.
The BFP officer said the five wounded victims tried but failed to rescue those who perished. “The injured victims are still in the hospital and could hardly speak to probers due to pain,” he said.
Local officials already extended aid to the fire victims. (Edwin Fernandez/PNA)
