By Camcer Ordonez Imam
Cagayan De Oro City – A family of five was killed after they were trapped inside their burning residence in Barangay Puntod, this city, early Saturday.
City fire district marshal Supt. Richard Arbutante identified the victims as Louie, 10; Michelle, 13; Mary Grace, 12; Mark Kenneth, 21; and Connie, 24, all surnamed Serillo.
Connie was found soaked in water inside the bathroom, while the other victims were jammed next to locked grilled windows in their two-story residence in Sitio San Vicente, Corrales Extension in Barangay Puntod.
Arbutante said the local 911 dispatch center received the distress call at 1:48 a.m. Five minutes later, the first fire engine arrived in the area but Arbutante said the whole house was already engulfed by flames.
The firefighters immediately trained their hoses toward houses of the unaffected neighbors, so that only the Serillos’ residence was razed to the ground.
The conflagration was declared under control at 2:05 a.m.
Initial probe indicated that the fire started in the kitchen.