By Perla Lena
ILOILO CITY – Two persons died in a fire that hit a residential and six boarding houses Sunday afternoon in Barangay San Nicolas in La Paz district, leaving 173 others homeless.
The fire that started at 4:15 p.m. gutted seven houses, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said.
An estimated total damage was placed at PHP2.1 million.
The fatalities were identified as call center agent Lyn Rose Sobretodo, 26, of Pototan town; and Renz David Aguilar, 22, a third-year civil engineering student, of the municipality of Concepcion.
Both were staying in a boarding house owned by Rocky Gordon.
Authorities believed the two victims could be asleep when the fire broke out.
“It’s very sad. I condole with the families. I feel very bad that it happened,” Mayor Jerry Treñas told a press conference on Monday.
He assured burial assistance to the victims’ families of up to PHP100,000.
The mayor also ordered the boarding house commission to thoroughly inspect boarding houses in the area, looking into their fire alarm, fire exit, and electrical connection.
Based on the boarding house commission’s database, all six boarding houses failed to renew their permits.
Meanwhile, Iloilo City Business Process and Licensing Division records showed two failed to renew their business permits, and four have no record.
“We have been ordering the closure of several boarding houses because of violations. We are not remiss, but unfortunately, it happened,” the mayor added. (PNA)
