This is what is left of the over 20 fruit stalls that were destroyed by a fire in Barili town in southern Cebu at past 12 a.m. today, May 8. | Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A total of 21 fruit stalls that were lined up near a church in Barili town, southern Cebu were razed by a fire that started past midnight on Wednesday, May 8, 2024.
The Barili fire burned properties worth P35,000, according to authorities.
Fire Office 1 (FO1) Kim Miñosa, investigator at the Barili Fire Station, said that the fire was reported by a concerned citizen at past 12:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
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Immediately after, fire trucks were deployed and arrived at the area in Poblacion Market at around 12:34 a.m.
The fire was raised to the first alarm as soon as firefighters arrived and to the second alarm at 12:40am, stated Miñosa.
He added that when the responders first arrived, around 6-8 stalls were already being engulfed by fire as it took some time before they were alerted.
With the assistance of firetrucks from Carcar City and Dumanjug, the Barili fire was put under control at around 1:30 a.m. Fire officials then declared a fire out 40 minutes later or at 2:10 a.m.
As of this writing, Miñosa said that they are verifying reports they received that the blaze started from the first stall in the line.
Fortunately, no one was reported injured in the incident.
This was the second time that the stall owners experienced a fire as a similar incident happened back in January.
A total of 5 fruit stalls were previously destroyed due to a fire outside the Barili Public Market in the barangay at past 8 p.m. on January 12, 2024.
After the Barili fire incident early on Wednesday, speculations among stall owners reportedly arose that the cause of the fire was related to electricity or a supply of calcium carbide locally known as kalburo.
Kalburo is commonly used by fruit vendors to hasten the ripening of fruits that have been plucked prematurely.
Miñosa, however, said that they are still conducting an investigation to determine what really caused the fruit stalls to catch on fire.
Barili is a second-class municipality located approximately 56 kilometers southwest of Cebu City.