Fire swallows CK house

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire that engulfed a two-story house in Chalan Kanoa early yesterday morning. (DFEMS)

A fire engulfed a two-story house in Chalan Kanoa early yesterday morning, even as a brush fire that broke out Monday afternoon at Wireless Ridge was still spreading, destroying acres of vegetation.

The Chalan Kanoa fire gutted the interior of the two-story house on Anita Avenue corner Crispina Street.

No one was reported injured as the house occupants—Wilfredo “Boy” Ching, his wife, and 29-year-old son—managed to run outside for safety.

Ching and his family were able to drive out their two vehicles, but their white Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was left in the garage because they could not find the keys at that time.

The hood portion of the truck was burned.

Ching said he was watching TV on the first floor of the house while his wife and son were in their rooms on the second floor when the fire broke out.

He said he noticed smoke coming out of the ceiling on the first floor and thought it was coming from a neighbor.

Ching said his son, who was awakened by the smoke, shouted at him that there’s plenty of smoke on the second floor.

Ching went upstairs and told his son to get his mother. It was dark on the second floor.

Ching said he could not go through the second floor as he almost fainted because of the smoke. He said his wife and their son crawled downstairs.

He believes the cause of the fire was faulty electrical wiring on the second floor’s ceiling.

“We saved only two of our three vehicles. We failed to save any belongings,” said Ching, who is thankful that he and his family are not hurt. They are also grateful to the American Red Cross-NMI Chapter for assisting them.

Ching and his family have been leasing the house for 18 years now.

At 12:49am yesterday, Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services received a call from the Department of Public Safety 911 about a possible fire by Smiling Poker in Chalan Kanoa.

This prompted a fire engine that was battling the grass fire at Wireless Ridge to respond to the Chalan Kanoa blaze. Firefighters from Susupe and Koblerville fire stations also responded to Chalan Kanoa.

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp., the Commonwealth Ports Authority-Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting and the ARC-NMI Chapter were then contacted.

DFEMS spokesman Derek Gersonde said the fire was controlled at 3:38am.

No one was reported injured.

Preliminary investigation by DFEMS showed that the fire’s point of origin was on the second floor of the building.

In the grass fire incident, DFEMS activated a second Strike Team yesterday at midnight because of the brush fire’s erratic behavior.

Gersonde said the winds, with strength of 9 to 11 miles per hour and gusts of up to 20 mph, caused the fire’s erratic behavior to spread at 5 to 10 yards a minute.

Gersonde said that, at 2am yesterday, the fire crossed the Wireless Ridge Road because of the erratic winds and dry grass and brush.

The brush fire began Monday afternoon at Wireless Ridge by Mt. Susu. DFEMS Strike Teams have been trying to prevent the blaze from spreading.

Last March 12, three grass fires destroyed over an acre of vegetation near Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School in San Roque and at the Tanapag Cemetery.

A brush fire swept 4.5 acres of vegetation in Papago last March 7.

Two weeks ago, multiple brush fires occurred on Tinian and Rota.

Gersonde reminded the public that the best way to battle grass fires is to prevent it from ever starting.