BY: VANESSA BUGTONG

A mother and her 10-year-old son were killed after being trapped inside their burning house in Rosales, Pangasinan, on Monday morning.

The fire broke out at around 7:29 a.m. in Barangay Carmen West, engulfing five houses. According to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), responders from the Rosales Fire Station and nearby fire stations rushed to the scene but arrived to find the flames already widespread.

“The house was made of light materials and was connected to other structures. It was an old house with wooden posts, and various flammable items were stored inside,” said SFO1 Joseph Ullibac, chief of operations at Rosales Fire Station.

The fire reached the second alarm before being declared under control at around 7:40 a.m. Firefighters took nearly two hours to fully extinguish the blaze, officially declaring “fire out” at 9:43 a.m.

During the mopping-up operations, authorities discovered the charred remains of the mother and child inside their house.

“The team was deeply saddened to find two casualties—a mother and her son. Another elderly resident also sustained injuries,” Ullibac added.

The fire caused an estimated 2.5 million pesos in damages. The BFP is still investigating the exact cause of the fire.

This marks the fourth fire incident in Rosales this year.