Sorsogon market fire: Coastal road to host displaced vendors

SORSOGON CITY — The Sorsogon provincial government is preparing a portion of the coastal road as a temporary market for vendors displaced by a fire that gutted the Sorsogon City Public Market late Saturday, Oct. 24.

Provincial administrator Eric Ravanilla said heavy equipment had been deployed to clear the site and make it accessible to vendors and customers.

The provincial government plans to build temporary stalls within seven to 10 days and cement the ground to make the area more convenient for vendors and buyers, Ravanilla told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

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READ: 5 feared dead as fire guts Sorsogon City public market 

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The temporary market in Barangay Sirangan, about 100 meters from the gutted public market, will accommodate vendors from both the dry and wet sections. The number of affected registered and unregistered vendors was still being determined.

“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 said Gov. Edwin Hamor had ordered the deployment of heavy equipment to prepare the site.

The fire 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. The Bureau of Fire Protection declared the fire out shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday.

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Five people were feared dead in the blaze. Authorities were having difficulty identifying the possible victims because their remains were severely burned. Scene of the Crime Operatives were continuing their investigation.

The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage were still being determined, according to the BFP. /mcm