Patnongon: A fire gutted two stalls in the old Patnongon public market in the Municipality of Patnongon on Tuesday evening, leaving an estimated PHP600,000 in damage, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

According to Philippines News Agency, Arson Investigator, Fire Officer 2 Freddie Wave Tamba, said in an interview on Wednesday that the incident happened right after the electricity was restored following a three-hour brownout. "Per our initial assessment, the damage on the two stalls or the structures reached PHP600,000," he said.

BFP-Patnongon is still determining the cause of the fire but initially received information that it broke out in the rented stall of Karen Alabi, who was selling frozen goods. The fire quickly spread to the adjacent stall of Madea Macalla, who was also selling frozen goods.

Earlier that day, Alabi had deliveries of frozen goods. She was not able to unplug their freezer because it was full. This is believed to have caused a short circuit when the brownout occurred.