5 dead in Sorsogon market fire; over 400 vendors displaced

SORSOGON CITY—Five people died in a fire that gutted the Sorsogon City Public Market late Saturday night, as authorities worked to identify the victims and the provincial government prepared a temporary trading area for displaced vendors.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Bicol provided P10,000 in cash assistance to each of the five victims’ families, along with funeral assistance and psychological first aid.

FO1 Vanessa Fullion, radio operator of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Sorsogon City, told the Inquirer that the victims were believed to be stall owners or bystanders. Their identities were still being established because their remains were severely burned.

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Scene of the Crime Operatives were investigating the incident, while authorities continued to determine the cause of the fire and assess the extent of the damage.

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Fullion said the blaze broke out between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Saturday and reached the second alarm, prompting seven fire trucks from neighboring towns to respond.

Clearing operations

The BFP declared the fire out shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25. Clearing operations continued to prevent a possible rekindling.

Meanwhile, the provincial government was preparing a portion of the coastal road in Barangay Sirangan as a temporary market for some 400 vendors displaced by the fire.

Provincial Administrator Eric Ravanilla said heavy equipment had been deployed to clear the site, about 100 meters from the gutted market, and make it accessible to vendors and customers.

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The provincial government plans to build temporary stalls within seven to 10 days and cement the ground to make the area more convenient for trading, he said.

The site will accommodate vendors from both the wet and dry sections of the public market. Authorities were still determining the actual number of registered and unregistered vendors affected.

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“We don’t want to disrupt the activity, so business as usual. There will be inconvenience somehow, but the provincial government is extending all the assistance,” Ravanilla said.

He added that Gov. Edwin Hamor had ordered the deployment of heavy equipment to prepare the site.

Aid

Marygizelle Mesa, DSWD-Bicol regional information officer, said social workers visited the victims’ families on Sunday to provide psychological first aid.

The agency’s Crisis Intervention Section satellite office in Sorsogon City released the P10,000 cash assistance to each family through its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program.

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The DSWD was also preparing family food packs for the vendors whose stalls were affected by the fire. The relief goods were being prepared at the Sirangan village covered court using available supplies from the agency’s provincial warehouse. INQ