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Blaze destroys nine firecracker stalls as Filipinos stock up for celebrations

A fire yesterday destroyed nine firecracker stalls north of Manila, injuring at least three people and sparking panic among shoppers making last-minute purchases of firecrackers to welcome the new year, officials said.

The one-hour fire ignited stacks of firecrackers, causing dark-gray smoke to billow into the sky and sending flaming debris that injured two bystanders in Bocaue, known as the country's firecracker capital, fire marshal Absalon Zipagan said.

Another villager was bruised when he fell to the ground while running to safety. The blasts also damaged two parked vans and a motorcycle, Zipagan said.

Investigators suspect the fire was accidentally lit by a cigarette or reckless testing of firecrackers in an alley of stalls, he said.

"They sounded like bombs," businesswoman Rebecca Santiago said, describing the firecracker blasts, which shattered glass windows in her three-story building.

Santiago said that when she saw one stall catch fire she rushed to bring her three grandchildren out of her nearby building to safety. As they ran away, she heard successive blasts from the burning stalls that shook the ground.

TV footage showed two villagers trying to douse the fire in two stalls with extinguishers.

A powerful blast later rocked a nearby stall, prompting them to run away with fleeing shoppers.

Some villagers snapped pictures of the inferno while village guards directed traffic away.

Despite warnings by Philippine health officials, many superstitious Filipinos continue to usher in the new year with powerful firecrackers, believing that noisy celebrations -- largely influenced by Chinese tradition -- drive away evil and misfortune.

More than 900 people were injured by firecrackers and gunfire during celebrations a year ago between Christmas and New Year's Day. This season, the Health Department has recorded 134 people injured so far by firecrackers and one by a stray bullet since Dec. 21 despite a crackdown on powerful firecrackers.
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