By Felipe V. Celjno
ROXAS CITY, Capiz – Around P200,000 worth of properties went up in smoke when the residence of a social worker was razed by fire early Thursday morning at Sitio Nasagud, Barangay Lanot, Roxas City.
Senior Fire Officer 1 Aldrin Catalan, Roxas City Fire Station investigator, identified the house owner as Ruel Lauriano, 40, and native of Brgy. Tawog Sigma, Capiz.
He said the victim failed to save even his personal belongings when the fire broke out around 2 a.m. and razed the whole house that was made up of mixed materials.
Lauriano said that he was awakened by his colleague when the conflagration broke out in the kitchen and the comfort room.
They immediately went out of the house to save their lives.
Lauriano said his colleague stopped him when he attempted to return to the house to get his jewelry, money and important documents.
Catalan said Lauriano was confident that his house was fireproof as he took precautions by turning off the LPG tank and unplugging his appliances before sleeping.
Lauriano believes that the fire might be intentional, thus he asked the authorities to investigate further.