Predawn fire kills mom, 3 kids in Cebu - report

A mother and three of her children died in a fire believed caused by a television set that overheated in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu province Friday. Amid the horror, 36-year-old mother Mercedita Flores managed to toss out her 10-year-old daughter to rescuers before she and her three other children perished in the fire at their house in Looc village. Radio dzBB reported Friday that the fire started at 5:55 a.m., but responding firefighters managed to place it under control in a few minutes. Killed in the fire were Mercedita, an employee of the Mactan Export Processing Zone; and sons Jade Lawrence, 14; Harold Philip, 8; and Lloyd, 1. The rescued child was identified as Jessa Mae. Helper Cheryl Catausan, 17, escaped from the inferno but sustained first-degree burns. Mercedita's husband Jonathan was on duty at the Mactan Export Processing Zone at the time of the incident. By the time he rushed home, his wife and three sons were already dead. Arson investigators estimated the damage to property at P200,000. - GMANews.TV