By Jennifer P. Rendon
A mother and his son died after they got trapped in their burning house in Leganes, Iloilo on April 16, 2021.
Ana Vivien Ganon, 49, and her son, 21-year-old Anthony Quin, were asleep on the second floor of the family’s two-story home at San Vicente Village in Barangay Poblacion when the fire broke out around 12:45 a.m. Friday.
Their bodies were found face down in the house’s ground floor.
Senior Fire Officer 4 (SFO4) Lee Sampiano, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Leganes Station officer-in-charge, believed that the smoke rendered the two victims unconscious.
Sampiano explained that the superheated air coming from the house’s ground floor creeped through the bedroom and knocked them out before they could even escape.
The second floor, which was mainly made of light materials, collapsed.
Their bodies fell to the ground floor after the fire gobbled the second floor.
Fire probers found their body at the dining area, near the comfort room.
But while the two did not survive, 16-year-old Andre Vince, Ana Vivien’s son and Anthony Quin’s brother, survived.
He managed to get out of their burning house by destroying the glass window at the second floor and jumped to safety.
Neighbors claimed that he attempted to get back upon learning that his mother and brother were still inside their home.
But he was held back by neighbors after seeing that the conflagration had engulfed most of the house.
He was then rushed to the hospital for burn injuries on his legs and arms.
“We could say for now if the three are sleeping in one room. But the victims’ relatives claimed Vince Andrew had been repeatedly saying that his mother and brother were still inside their house while he was being brought to the hospital,” Sampiano said.
It was gathered that the Ganon home was nestled adjacent to another home owned by their relatives Marilyn Legaspi and William Mijares.
Just like the victim’s house, the adjacent house was also gutted but no one was hurt.
Ganon’s car parked just outside their home was also burned.
It was gathered that Ganon’s husband is an overseas Filipino worker based in Malaysia.
The couple’s eldest child is a seafarer and is in Metro Manila,
BFP-Leganes declared fire under control at 2:30 a.m. and fire out at 4:57 a.m.
Amid claims that the local fire station took a while to respond even if it was just a few hundred meters from the scene, Sampiano explained that a tricycle driver and a policeman informed them of the incident at 1:08 a.m.
They were able to reach the area a minute later.
Fire investigators pegged the damage to property at P700,000.
Sampiano said they’re still investigating the origin of the fire.
She added, though, that initial investigated that the fire could have possibly started at the kitchen area.
Meanwhile, the John B Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) has extended its condolences over the death of their student, Anthony Quin, and his mother.
“It is a sad day when one of our own falls. Rest in peace Mdpn. Quin Ganon. You are a brave soul,” the university said in a statement.
On the other hand, the JBLFMU-Molo Student Affairs also claimed that they’re sudden by what happened.
“We were so shocked to hear of your unexpected loss, Mdpn. Anthony Quin Ganon. We are still trying to accept it. You will be missed greatly by all of us who knew you. Our sincere sympathy to the bereaved family.”
