MANAOAG, Pangasinan: A one-hour fire razed eight commercial stalls selling religious articles in front of the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag here on Thursday night, the town's fire marshal said on Friday, February 16.

No one was hurt in the fire, said Senior Inspector Virgilio Mamitag, fire marshal of the Bureau of Fire Protection, in a telephone interview.

Smoke billows behind the giant statues of saints resting on the perimeter fence of the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag in Pangasinan on Thursday night, Feb. 15, 2024, due to a fire that razed eight commercial stalls nearby. No one was hurt in the one-hour fire. PHOTO FROM MUNICIPALITY OF MANAOAG FACEBOOK PAGE

He said that when his office was notified about the fire at about 10:45 p.m., it took his firefighters less than a minute to reach the burning stalls. This town's fire station is located only a few meters from the church.

Firefighters declared a "fire out" at about 11:45 p.m.

Mamitag said that investigators were still looking into the cause and total damage of the fire.

He said that fire spread quickly to the stalls, which were made of light materials and contained highly combustible merchandise, such as candles, plastic statues, cloth, and coconut oil.

The stalls were located near the church's main gate, left of the driveway.

Mamitag said he was thankful it was not windy Thursday night, preventing embers from flying to a nearby building of Colegio de San Juan de Letran, a Catholic-run school, which is separated by a 6-meter road from the stalls.

He said that Mayor Jeremy Agerico Rosario, who was also at the fire scene on Thursday night, immediately ordered the town's social welfare office to identify and assist the fire victims.