Vendors’ goods go up in smoke

A building where at least 15 vendors store their merchandise to avoid confiscation by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) was razed the other day in a six-hour fire in Pasay City.

Fire Officer 3 Renato Recto, arson investigator, said some P3 million worth of dry goods, consisting mostly of ready-to-wear clothes, distilled water bottles, liquor and canned goods were destroyed. The items were stored inside a two-story building on EDSA corner Cabrera street in Pasay City.

"No one was injured in the fire. Some vendors used it as a storage area. They needed to keep their items somewhere near the sidewalks, but out of sight and reach of MMDA personnel who might try to confiscate them," said Recto.

The fire started at around 8:10 a.m. last Thursday. It was placed under control by 10:30 a.m. and declared out by 2:40 p.m. It reached the fifth fire alarm.

Some 20 fire trucks from the nearby cities and municipalities in Metro Manila and Chinese volunteers responded to the incident.

Recto said the 20-year-old building, owned by one Benito Tan, was not insured.

Initial investigation showed a street vendor selling newspapers went to Tan’s house, situated at the back of the warehouse, and informed people there that smoke was coming out of the second floor of the building. They immediately alerted the Pasay City Fire Department.

Probers said the fire might have been caused by short circuit in the electrical system.

"There were holes in the roof, and with the constant rains, water might have seeped through and caused a spark in the wiring, triggering the fire," he said. – Evelyn Macairan