More than a million pesos in property were destroyed in two separate fires that occurred in the capital town of Virac last week.
The first blaze was reported to the Virac Fire Station sometime before 4:49 PM of Oct. 15, 2022 as flames consumed the small, unfinished wooden house with GI roofing owned by couple Venjo and Lalina Vargas at Moonwalk in barangay Calatagan Proper.
In the initial report released by Acting Municipal Fire Marshal F/Insp. Danilo Tayobana, fire investigators determined that the blaze, which caused P63,000 in damage, was caused by cooking fire that was left unattended.
The following day, Oct. 16, at 6:26 AM, the fire station received a report that a house was on fire in barangay Pajo Baguio about seven kilometers from the town center.
Station personnel immediately responded and reached the area in seven minutes, followed by fire crews from the Bato and San Andres fire stations as well a tanker from the Virac MDRRMO.
A lit candle left on the altar was blamed for the conflagration, which reduced to a charred shell the 110-square meter, fully-furnished concrete residential house owned by government retiree Salvador Gianan and his wife Hedelisa.
Damage to the property was estimated at P1.65 million, with at least two fund-raising campaigns launched on social media to provide clothes and other needs for the couple and their extended family.