Fire destroys banana chip factory in North Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato — A fire fueled by six tons of cooking oil destroyed a banana chip factory in Barangay Sudapin here early Tuesday, displacing at least 20 workers and destroying P3 million worth of banana chips ready for delivery, officials said.

City Fire Marshall Darwin Custodio said no one was injured in the fire, which gutted 90 percent of the factory owned by Reynaldo Peria.

The fire was so intense that firemen operating four fire engines had difficulty containing it, he said, adding that some six tons of cooking oil kept in the factory’s stock room helped fuel the fire.

Custodio said the fire also gutted two houses nearby.

Peria said the fire, which he suspected originated in the factory’s cooking area, displaced 20 workers, and he was negotiating with them so they could continue to work at his other banana chips factory in Compostela Valley.