A 5-year-old boy died in a 45-minute fire when he was trapped in their house in Bago City , Negros Occidental, Sunday, the fire bureau said yesterday.

PO1 Dionisio Mondejar of the Provincial Mobile Group tried to save his son, John Lloyd, from the blaze in Brgy. Tabunan, Bago City but failed because of the volume of flames, Senior Inspector Randy Pudadera, the city's fire marshal said.

Mondejar, who was eventually prevented by his family members from entering the burning structure, was rushed to a hospital for first-degree burns on his back, Pudadera added.

He said they will conduct a follow-up investigation on the cause of the fire although Mondejar told them that it started when his son played with a lighter in one of the rooms of the two-storey house.

The first fire truck arrived at the scene about fifteen minutes after they got the call from the Bago City police at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, and Pudadera said the fire had already been raging for about 30 minutes, the Mondejars told them later.

The Mondejars tried to ask assistance through 117 but the line was busy at that time, Pudadera added.

He also said the fire burned the house down fast because it was made of light materials such as plywood and bamboo.

The neighbors of the family who tried to put out the fire before the firefighters arrived were also hampered by explosions from the house believed caused by the heated bullets of Mondejar's .45 caliber pistol and M-16 assault rifle, Pudadera said.

There were also fears that a grenade might explode in the house, and this prevented them from getting near it, he added.*PP

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