ILOILO City – The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) offered temporary shelter – its barracks – to the police officer whose house was totally razed by fire on May 6 in Barangay San Isidro, La Paz district.
Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag, regional police director, also assured Senior Police Officer 2 Richard Gerafusco Sr. of the La Paz police station of free, new uniforms aside from shelling out financial assistance.
The fire killed Gerafusco’s wife, son, mother-in-law and an aunt.
Binag personally checked the house of Gerafusco hours after the fatal blaze.
During the fire, Gerafusco was on duty.
“Nakakaawa ang sinapit ng ating pulis na naka-duty pa ng masunog ang kanyang bahay at nawalan pa ng pamilya. Napakasakit, kaya kahit paano ay matulungan natin,” said Binag.
Fire struck the Gerafusco two-storey house around 4 a.m. Household members were still sleeping. Killed were Gerafusco’s wife Evangeline, 40; son Richard Jr., 15; mother-in-law Elvira Avelino, 64; and aunt Christina Dolente, 75.
Four other relatives were injured: Carla Avelino, 38, and sons Jim Carlo, 8, and Salvador James, 9; and Jayvee Avelino, 21.
“Tag-init kasi. Tuyo ang buong bahay that’s why it was totally burned,” said Chief Inspector Christopher Regencia, city fire marshal.
According to Senior Inspector Val Ladublan, La Paz police chief, Gerafusco voluntarily surrendered his service firearm while grieving for his wife and son.
This was a wise decision, said Ladublan, considering the policeman’s current emotional state.
He expressed confidence that Gerafusco would survive this challenging part of his life.
Two neighboring houses owned by Jose Deocampo and Alberto Sumandig were partially damaged.
Structures at the back of La Paz National High School were also damaged.
Although the investigation was yet to be completed, Regencia theorized that electricity “overload” on the ground floor may have started the house fire.
Too many things plugged into an electrical circuit can cause an overload.
“From the ground floor, the fire quickly reached second floor of the house at bumagsak,” said Regencia.
Firemen recovered the charred remains of the four casualties at the receiving area of the ground floor.
A preliminary estimate of damage at Gerafusco’s house reached to P150,000./PN
