A mother and her three children were burned to death when they were trapped inside their burning house in Barangay Pagdugue, Dumangas, Iloilo early Wednesday morning, Nov. 10.
The fatalities were identified as Rhea Padios, 38, and her children Hienz Michael, 7, Hera Earl, 6, and Hailey Elestine, 3.
The charred bodies of the four were found hugging together inside their room.
Their house, surrounded by rice fields, was made of light materials, which caused the fire to spread easily.
According to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP-Dumangas), they received a call at 4:45 a.m. and “fire out” was declared at 5:19 a.m.
The incident took place two weeks after Rhea’s husband who is a seafarer left their home to return to work.
Fire Senior Inspector Michael Salvacion said the fire, based on their initial investigation, was caused by an electrical short circuit.
The estimated cost of damage is around P16,000.
The BFP-Dumangas is expected to release their final report on the incident today, Nov. 11.
Rhea was a teacher at a public elementary school in their village.
In an interview with radio station RMN-Iloilo, Pagdugue Elementary School Head Teacher III Ma. Teresa Dequina described Rhea as a “dedicated” and “good” teacher.
“Masaligan mo sya bla. Kon sa mga reports ya, active man na sya. Basta ulbrahon na, wala na gapangindi,” she said.IMT
