TACLOBAN CITY — A barangay official and his wife died in an early morning fire that razed their home in New Hope Village, Barangay 107, Sta. Elena, Tacloban City, on Sunday.

Tacloban City Fire Marshal F/CInsp. Darren Baclea-an said the Tacloban City Fire Station received the alarm at 6:08 a.m. Firefighters immediately responded and declared the fire out at 6:30 a.m.

The charred bodies of the couple were discovered inside the house during overhaul operations.

Baclea-an said authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire. However, neighbors believe it may have been triggered by an overheated circuit breaker caused by appliances left plugged in.

Residents also lamented the lack of a reliable water supply in the community, saying it prevented them from containing the blaze before firefighters arrived.

Neighbors who rushed to the scene said they tried to extinguish the fire using the limited water available in their homes, but their efforts were insufficient.

New Hope Village is one of the relocation sites built by the National Housing Authority for survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda and residents relocated from high-risk coastal areas in Tacloban.

More than 12,000 families have been transferred to government- and privately funded housing projects in the city's northern barangays since the 2013 disaster.

However, more than a decade later, several relocation communities still lack direct access to potable water. Residents rely on communal water pumps for daily use, while drinking water is purchased from refilling stations or delivered from neighboring areas.

"We could have controlled the fire if there was enough water," said a resident identified only as Ed. "We feel helpless in emergencies like this because we can only rely on the fire station."