ILOILO City – Electrical overloading may have caused the blaze in Barangay Lopez Jaena Norte in La Paz district, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection.
Investigators have found a “tampered” circuit breaker, said City Fire Marshal Christopher Regencia.
The blaze hit two houses at around 2:46 p.m. on Friday.
The one owned by Letilyn Naquilla was destroyed. The other one, owned by Patrick Arca, was partially damaged.
The cost of damage was estimated at P150,000.
Regencia said the fire originated from Naquilla’s house, which was made of light materials.
“We are looking into overloading as the cause of fire,” he said. “We have found a tampered (circuit) breaker.”
Firefighters were able to put the blaze under control at around 3:03 p.m. and declared “fire out” 14 minutes later.
A 31-year-old resident, Benjie Montanio, sustained small wounds on the arms amid the fire. Iloilo City Emergency Response personnel treated his wounds.
Regencia warned locals against tampering on or altering electrical installations.
“Doing so almost always leads to fires, especially when there are a lot of electrical appliances in the household,” he said./PN
