Fire guts public market in Gapan, Nueva Ecija

Several vendors lost their livelihood after a fire believed caused by an unattended liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank destroyed the public market in Gapan City before dawn Sunday. The fire, which started at the city market’s Building 2 that houses stalls selling clothes, groceries and plastic items, started at 2:15 a.m. and was put out only at 7:15 a.m. “Kabuuan ng palengke ang nasunog ... Ang mga nagtitinda ng gulay ang unang nakakita (The entire market was destroyed. Vegetable dealers bringing in produce were the first to see the flames)," Fire Insp. Norman Sines said in an interview on dzBB radio. No one was reported injured or trapped in the fire. Sines said the fire reached Task Force Alpha, but FO3 Jesus Simon said in an earlier interview that the fire reached general alarm. Sines said they are now verifying initial reports that an LPG or gasoline tank left unattended at a nearby eatery may have started the blaze. “Yan kino-consider natin (We are considering that)," he said when asked about the possibility that an LPG tank explosion started the fire. He also said firemen are still trying to assess the damage to property caused by the fire. Also, he said city officials are now trying to figure out where to temporarily relocate the vendors whose stalls were destroyed in the fire. Earlier, FO3 Simons aid the fire, which started at the center portion of the market at about 2 a.m., reached general alarm level as of 4:30 a.m. “Ang gitna ng palengke ang nasunog, ang tinitinda doon mga damit, grocery, plastic (The center part of the market was burning. Stalls in that part sell clothes, groceries and plastic items)," he said. Simon said power has been cut off to the market and neighboring areas to prevent electrical fires from starting. He said no one was reported injured as of 4 a.m., and that the cause of the fire remained undetermined. As of 6:30 a.m., dzRH radio reported that while the flames had stopped, explosions were still heard at the market. Its correspondent said there was no watchman or market administrator at the scene as of Sunday morning. Vendors wept upon seeing the fire. Making matters worse was that there was no fire hydrant near the market. The city has only three available fire trucks. It was the second major market fire in the province since late December 2006, when firecrackers triggered a fire and destroyed a fourth of the public market in Cabanatuan City. Fire Sr. Insp. Cesar Balane cited witnesses’ initial testimonies Sunday that the fire, which reached the general alarm, stemmed from a firecracker test gone awry. Balane also scored the city government for not heeding the local Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) recommendation to require a BFP clearance from firecracker vendors allowed to sell in the city market. The local BFP recommended that firecrackers vendors get a permit from the BFP before being allowed to sell their wares in the market. Many stalls, mostly those selling firecrackers and barbecue, were destroyed in the fire. - GMANews.TV