Grandma, 3 kids die in predawn Makati fire

A 65-year old woman and her three grandchildren were killed after being trapped inside their house hit by a predawn fire in Makati City Wednesday. The fire at the house at Water Lily Street in Barangay Rizal started at 2:10 a.m. and reached the second alarm before it was put out at 2:40 a.m. "Nakikita natin na ang sunog ay nanggaling sa bandang sala ... May nakita tayong bangkay sa may kusina, may dalawa sa kuwarto. Di sila nakalabas dahil ang pinto may double lock at ang bintana naka-window grille," Makati fire marshal Superintendent Samuel Tadeo said in an interview on dzRH radio. (From our initial investigation, the fire started at the sala. We found charred bodies in the kitchen area and two in a room. They were trapped because the door had double lock and the window had grille.) Tadeo identified the four fatalities as Mira Sabio, 65; and grandchildren Arianne Aquino, 12; Judy Perez, 13; and Andrea Marie Banquiles, 7. He said the three granddaughters were from Sabio's different children.

A separate report by radio dzBB's Roland Bola said police and fire authorities cordoned off the house while investigating the cause of the fire. Investigators are looking into the claims of neighbors that an old electric fan may have overheated and started the fire. Citing initial reports reaching him, Tadeo said the damage to property was initially estimated at P50,000. He also cited initial testimonies by the victims’ relatives that Sabio would have her three granddaughters sleep over at her house at night. Wednesday's predawn tragedy came barely two days after a family of four and their two helpers perished in a fire that hit their house in Quezon City. — LBG, GMA News