By Glazyl M. Jopson
BACOLOD CITY — An elderly man celebrating his 80th birthday was injured in a fire that destroyed his home in Purok Roxas Village, Barangay Tangub, on Tuesday.
Fire Officer 2 Rolin Paulan, an arson investigator with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Bacolod, identified the victim as Edgardo Asplico, who sustained second-degree burns on the left side of his face.
Paulan said Asplico rushed back into his house upon learning of the fire in an attempt to save his belongings. However, since the house was made of light materials, the flames quickly consumed the structure.
The fire broke out around 10:48 a.m. and also partially damaged a neighboring house.
Investigators suspect electrical overloading as the cause of the blaze. Paulan said Asplico’s neighbor was allegedly tapping power from his house, which may have overloaded the main circuit.
The fire caused an estimated P14,000 in damage. BFP declared the fire out at 11:02 a.m.