Vigan heritage house burned; owner killed

By Freddie Lazaro and Raymund Catindig

VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur – A man was killed while his female companion survived a fire that razed a Spanish ancestral house at the corner of Plaridel and General Luna Streets at the Heritage District of this city Wednesday morning.

Firefighters recovered the charred remains of Eric Hassal Hernandez, 51, on the ground floor of the house in Barangay 1.

Vigan City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Milagros C. Alquiza confirmed the fire incident, saying the Singson-Hernandez family-owned ancestral house was destroyed by the fire of still unknown origin.

The house was located a block away from the main street of the Heritage Village, which is Crisologo Street, and is inside the core zone of the Heritage District.

Alquiza confirmed that the responders recovered remains of Hernandez during the clearing operation inside the destroyed house.

He was reportedly with a female companion, who was able to escape at the height of the fire.

“Investigators from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) are presently conducting probe on the cause of the fire and the value of the damaged property,” said Alquiza.

It was reported that the fire started at about 7:45 a.m., and was put out at about 9 a.m.

“Upon learning of the fire incident, our firefighters from the BFP (Bureau of Fire Protection) Metro Vigan, the BCS Company and JTC firefighters, and the responders of the city and provincial disaster risk reduction and management offices (CDRRMO and PDRMMO) responded immediately, and we successfully controlled and stopped the spread of the fire,” she said.

Vigan City Mayor Juan Carlo S. Medina commended the quick response of the firefighters from the BFP, Metro Vigan Coordinating Council, Vigan Emergency Response Team, barangay officials for the immediate eradication of fire.

“Our Heritage District core zone is intact and its business as usual for all souvenir shops, hotels, and other establishments,” he said.

He ensured the safety of all structures of the historic Heritage Village from incidents like fire due to the presence of alert, vigilant and organized firefighters.

He added the destroyed house is subject for restoration following the guidelines on Vigan Heritage Conservation Plan.

The blaze started at around 8 a.m. Fire out was declared two hours later, according to Lt. Col. Fidel Junio, city police chief.

Firetrucks from the nearby town of Bantay and the provincial capitol helped in preventing the fire from spreading to an adjacent hotel and rows of old houses along  Calle Crisologo.

The street is known for its century-old houses and has been cited as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Junio said Hernandez’s house had been partly sold to the operator of the West Loch Hotel.

He said except for the victim, the Hernandez siblings have divided and sold their shares of the property.

It was the second fire that occurred in the area since March 2014 when an old Spanish mansion turned into a dormitory along Bonifacio street was razed to the ground.

Probers have yet to determine the cause of the blaze