BACOLOD CITY – The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Bacolod confirmed on Saturday, May 31, the death of a six-year-old girl in a fire caused by an unattended lighted candle in their house in Purok Active, Barangay Mandalagan here last week.
Fire Officer 2 Rolin Paulan, chief arson investigator of Bacolod City Fire Station, said that the victim passed away at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital here on Thursday, May 29, due to pneumonia and severe infection.
Paulan said the victim sustained second to third degree burns and died of complications five days after the fire on May 24.
He said the victim was rescued by a neighbor near the kitchen through a small hole during the blaze.
Her one-year-old sister also perished in the fire.
The fire broke out when the victims’ teenage siblings left them alone with a lighted candle placed on top of a plastic cabinet to attend a purok fiesta while their mother was away for work.
Paulan said they considered this alarming due to the number of casualties in a week who were all children and the fire was caused by a candle.
He said they continue to remind the public not to leave children alone at home and be cautious with candles.
This was the second fire incident here with reported casualties last week.
The first was in Purok Lison, Barangay 1. Two siblings aged six and eight were killed due to lighted candle, following a power outage in the area on May 20.