MANILA, Philippines - Fire gutted a house and small store in Barangay Moras dela Paz in Sto. Tomas, Pampanga early Monday, killing one person.

Firefighters identified the victim as Ferdinand del Rosario, 40, and a father of three kids.

The victim's wife, Marilou, said her husband woke her up before dawn Monday and told her that the house was on fire. She said she and her three children, Anne Mary, 14; Arlene, 12; and Mac Merdie, 10; escaped by jumping through the window.

She said, however, that Ferdinand decided to go back inside the house to try to switch off the main fuse of the house. It was the last time that they saw Ferdinand alive.

Fire Superintendent Emmanuel Arrozal, Bureau of Fire Protection Pampanga Director, said firefighters later found the burnt corpse of del Rosario inside the house.

He blamed faulty wiring for the blaze.