A 15-year-old boy with physical and mental disabilities died after their house caught fire in Sitio Calin-ay, Barangay Poblacion, Samboan town on Tuesday afternoon, May 26, 2026.
Victim identified
The victim was identified as Ronel Encio, who also had difficulty walking. His body was charred when recovered by personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the police.
Fire incident details
In an interview with SunStar Superbalita Cebu, FO1 Joseph Marvin Eluna, investigator of the Samboan Fire Station, revealed that the victim was alone in the house when the fire broke out at around 1:35 p.m. The father, Ronny, had left early to work as a helper. The mother, Belen, said she left after cooking lunch in their wooden kitchen to look for additional income by assisting a neighbor. She forgot to put out the still-glowing embers in the stove.
“There were still embers when she left. They believe that the wind blew the fire and spread to the flammable parts of the kitchen,” according to FO1 Eluna.
Because the house was made of light materials, the fire quickly spread. FO1 Eluna believes the victim tried to escape since his charred body was found near the door. However, due to his condition of having difficulty walking, he was overtaken and burned by the fire.
Response challenges
One of the difficulties in responding was the distance of the incident site, which is about two kilometers from the main road. Additionally, the fire was not immediately reported; firefighters only learned about it when a resident went to their station to inform them. By the time the rescue team arrived, the fire had already grown large, and the victim could no longer be saved.
The BFP Samboan declared the incident an accident, leaving an estimated damage of P5,000.
