Fire mars Dinagyang eve revelry

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Loud music was devoured by wailing sounds of sirens from fire trucks as a fire hit the downtown area of this city while people were reveling on the eve of the Dinagyang Festival celebration.

Eleven establishments were gutted in the conflagration that started around 7:45 p.m. at Elizabeth Building on Iznart Extension.

Among those razed to the ground were the Ledi Supermart, Yoka Store, Helen Marketing, AH Trading, LGC Hardware and Motorcycle Parts, Mercury Money Changer, Iloilo Eng Hong Commercial, EC Marketing, Yankee General Merchant, JB Lucky Trading and a lotto outlet. Another establishment, CPT Pharmacy, was partially burned.

Witnesses said the fire started at Ledi Supermart and quickly spread to adjacent establishments. At the onset of the conflagration, explosions were also heard in the area where the food festival was held.

Hundreds of people had to give way to the fire trucks responding to the incident. First to respond were the fire trucks, which were earlier on stand by at SM City Iloilo for the Luces in the Sky, one of the featured events for Dinagyang.

More than an hour since the fire started, Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog asked for help from fire stations of nearby towns of Iloilo and water refilling stations around the metro, as trucks of the Bureau of Fire Protection and volunteer fire brigades were running out of water.

A responding fire truck from Dueñas town figured in a road accident in La Paz district while rushing to the city. The driver said a Nissan Navara pick-up cut their way as they were rushing toward the fire scene.

The BFP declared a fire out at around 10 p.m., or about three hours after. Firefighters have yet to determine the cause of the fire and the amount of damage to property.

Despite the incident, however, yesterday's Kasadyahan competition pushed through as scheduled.

Ramon Cua Locsin, chairman of the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation, Inc., said the incident won't hamper Dinagyang's highlight, which is the Ati Tribe competition, today. (FREEMAN)