Fire guts Farmer’s Plaza in Cubao

Hundreds of people went into a panic state after a two-hour fire struck the ground floor of the Farmer’s Plaza shopping mall yesterday afternoon in Cubao, Quezon City.

Fire investigators said that the blaze, which reached the third alarm, started at the Tropical Hut hamburger outlet and later spread into nearby stores. No deaths or injuries were reported as of presstime.

Initial reports showed that the fire broke out at the said hamburger joint at around 3:30 p.m. of "still undetermined cause." Police sources, however, said that faulty wiring in the store’s unit may have been the cause.

Responding firefighters immediately arrived at the scene as shoppers scampered to different directions and rushed outside the mall to avoid the fire which had already spread to other shops.

Authorities have yet to determine the amount of damage caused by the fire, but police estimated it to be over P2 million. The fire was declared out at exactly 5:23 p.m.

Follow-up investigations are now being conducted by firemen to see if arson was involved in the incident.