By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

At least P1.2 million worth of property went up in smoke following a blaze at Barangay San Pedro in Negros Occidental’s Binalbagan town late Saturday night.

Senior Fire Officer 4 Edwin Balejo, Binalbagan fire marshal, said the fire call was made past 11:00 p.m. and started at a carinderia owned by a certain Gemma Teologo.

Several other carinderias and business stalls were declared “totally gutted” while two others suffered extensive damage.

Based on initial investigation by arson investigators, they suspected that the fire could have been caused by a leftover cooking flame inside the carinderia. The blaze also quickly spread because the structures in the area were made of light materials such as nipa and bamboo.

A “fire out” was declared at around 12:00 a.m. on Sunday. Authorities reported no casualty./DGB, WDJ