SunStar Cagayan de Oro, March 22, 2007
ILIGAN CITY -- An hour and a half fire destroyed a public market here at dawn Wednesday, displacing hundreds of stall owners and vendors.
Fire Marshall Benigno Amomonpon Jr. said he received a fire call at about 3:15 a.m. and immediately dispatched fire trucks to the Pala-o supermarket where the fire was in progress.
Mayor Lawrence Cruz immediately sought the assistance of fire trucks from Global Steelworks and nearby towns including Cagayan de Oro City Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) upon learning of the outbreak.
The fire was put off at about 4:30 a.m. but about 60 percent of the public market was destroyed. Initial damages were placed at P3 million though no one was reported hurt in the incident, according to fire investigators.
Pala-o market is one of the two public markets in this city and its several decades-old structure contributed to the fast spread of the fire, the firemen said.
The City Economic Enterprises Department (CEED), which oversees collection of market stall and vendor fees, was destroyed.
Investigation is still going on to determine the cause of the fire. City officials also have yet to disclose plans to rehabilitate the decades-old public market.
