CEBU CITY – Two brothers with special needs died in a fire that hit their house in Barangay Poblacion, Sibonga town, southern Cebu, on Tuesday, December 26.
Brothers Kyle Geronimo, 25, and Fernando Geronimo Jr., 26, were sleeping in their room when the fire broke out around 1:50 a.m.
Police Corporal William Favillar of the Sibonga Police Station said that based on the investigation conducted by the Bureau of Fire and Protection, a lighted candle may have caused the fire.
Police said the family used a candle when a power outage hit the town around 11 p.m. on Christmas Day.
The fire, which spread quickly as the ancestral house was mostly made of light materials, reached first alarm.
At least two fire trucks responded to the fire, said Senior Fire Officer 1 Japeth Legrado of the Sibonga Fire Station.
The fire was contained at 2:50 a.m. and totally put out at 5:30 a.m. Damage to property was pegged at P200,000.