Fire hits Daet public market

razed by fire yesterday , destroying its dry goods and eatery sections.

Although no injury was reported, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) placed the damage at around P10 million.

Close to 200 market vendors lost their major source of livelihood in the three-hour fire, which started at 12 a.m.

Senior Superintendent Felix Rodil, regional fire marshall, said the fire was controlled at 3 a.m.

Firetrucks from Labo, Vinzons, Mercedes, Paracale as well as from the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and one owned by a certain Domingo Tang helped put out the blaze.

Initial investigation showed that the fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring.

Daet Mayor Tito Sarion was forced to call a press conference yesterday to deny reports that his administration was behind the burning of the public market, allegedly to get rid of the stalls within the market perimeters to give way to a plan to rehabilitate the building.

"Although it is true that I want to rehabilitate the market, I cannot sacrifice the small vendors’ safety just to pursue such plan," Sarion said.

Sarion said the rehabilitation project was already overdue for at least 14 years but it was only last month that the Land Bank of the Philippines granted the municipality a loan of P51 million to rehabilitate the old market.