Defective cellphone charger seen as cause of Novaliches subdivision fire

A defective cellphone charger may have caused the fire that burned six houses inside a subdivision in Novaliches in Quezon City near midnight on Monday, a report on “24 Oras” said Tuesday.

The report said the fire at the Doña Rosario Subdivision was believed to have originated from the house of a certain Tomas Lanuza, where three people were hurt when they jumped from the balcony to escape the blaze.

It also said that according to the Bureau of Fire Protection, fire incidents are usually caused by electrical malfunctions.

"May connection rin po 'yan sa electrical na siyang numero uno pong nagiging sanhi ng ating mga sunog," said FC/Supt. Ariel Barayuga. "Sana mag-ingat tayo sa paga-unplug ng ating mga appliances."



GMA electrical engineer Derrick Romero, meanwhile, warned of overnight charging of cellphones and other electronic devices especially using substandard or defective chargers, and of "octopus" electrical connection or the plugging of several devices to a wall socket.

"Patuloy pa rin po yung pag-daloy ng kuryente dun sa loob ng component, na nagko-cause ng pag-iinit na siyang magkakaroon ng 'cause nung fire," he said.

Barayuga said the BFP constantly reminds the public to unplug appliances when not in use, adding that they must also refrain from leaving on lights to give the illusion of having people inside the house to avoid over-loading.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) reminded homeowners that they may be charged with criminal negligence if their leniency leads to major fires.

"Kung nasunog yung bahay mo sa 'yong sariling kapabayaan, nag-pose pa rin ito ng risk sa ibang tao. Kailangang i-respeto natin kung ano yung provision ng batas," PNP spokesperson C/Supt. Generoso Cerbo said.

From January 1 to March 31, 2015, the BFP recorded 4,698 fire incidents nationwide, with faulty electrical connections (51), lighted cigarette butts (36), and open flames (39) accounting for most of the fires recorded in March, which is the Fire Prevention Month. –Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News