By Hilda Austria/PNA
MANGATAREM, Pangasinan — The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is investigating the cause of the fire incident that destroyed some 25 stalls of ready-to-wear (RTW) merchandise and plastic wares in the public market and injured one stall owner here on Sunday.
“We cannot tell yet the cause because the materials we have gathered from the incident are still undergoing testing,” BFP-Mangatarem officer-in-charge SFO3 Alexander Beltran said in a radio interview on Monday.
Beltran also reminded the public to be cautious, especially with unattended candles, unplugged electrical appliances, among others, to prevent fire incidents from occurring.
The estimated damage to property based on the initial assessment of BFP-Mangatarem amounts to PHP500,000, said FO1 Kin Darrel Dlor, BFP information officer, in an interview Monday.
“But this is just partial of the total damage because we are not yet done asking all the stall owners of their goods’ costs. The number of stalls does not yet include the vegetable vendors, whose tables and products were also burned by the fire,” he said.
Dlor disclosed that the fire started around 2:45 a.m. in an RTW stall owned by Prinsipio Basilio, which immediately spread to the other stalls in the public market.
“The fire alarm reached level 3 and it was put off at 4:15 a.m. with the help of other fire fighters from Urbiztondo, San Carlos City, Asingan, Bugallon, Binmaley and San Clemente, Tarlac,” he said.
Dlor added the incident injured Arnulfo Dela Cruz, a stall owner, who suffered third degree burns, and is currently being treated in the hospital.
“The victim and his wife were sleeping in their stall when the fire started. He thought his wife, who also fled out of the market, was still inside, so he returned but unfortunately, the fire was already blazing leaving him with injuries,” he said.
Dlor said some of the stall owners have returned to their trade after the debris were cleared from the area.
