By Joel Guinto
Northern Luzon Bureau, INQUIRER.net
Last updated 10:50am (Mla time) 12/31/2006
CABANATUAN CITY -- A blaze, believed to have been caused by firecrackers, razed a portion of the public market in this northern Philippine city early Saturday evening, police said.
There were no reports of casualties from the blaze that damaged an estimated P8 million worth of property.
Initial reports said the fire struck the part of the market on the corner of Burgos Avenue and Paco Roman streets at around 8 p.m.
Witnesses said they heard explosions similar to the sound of lit fireworks as the fire gutted almost one-fourth of the market building, which occupies an entire block in this city's downtown area.
Winds spread the fire to a building across the street where several drugstores are located.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer's Northern Luzon bureau quoted a police report as saying that quarreling sidewalk vendors who were throwing things at one another could have caused the fire.
Ambulances from the nearby Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Hospital were dispatched to the area to attend to possible casualties.
It was the second fire believed to have been caused by firecrackers to hit commercial establishments in the country this Christmas holiday week.
On Christmas Day last Monday, 25 people died after a blaze razed the Unitop store in Ormoc City in the central Philippines.
Authorities have warned the public against using firecrackers during the run-up to New Year's day celebrations, saying these could cause fires and injuries.
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