Fire hits Shoppersville along Katipunan Avenue in QC

A fire razed Shoppersville Supermarket along Katipunan Ave. in Quezon City on Thursday morning, causing a gridlock in the area.

The fire started before 5 a.m. It reached the fifth alarm two hours after.

Heavy traffic on both lanes of Katipunan Avenue in QC as firefighters put out fire at Shoppersville | via @karadavid pic.twitter.com/RpiyhseQeJ

— GMA News Breaking (@gmanewsbreaking) 13 July 2016

Woke up to this. Fire hits Shoppersville Supermarket in Katipunan Avenue pic.twitter.com/FiqmBQii5p

— Kim Cardenas (@kimcardens) 13 July 2016

Authorities from the QC Bureau of Fire and Protection responded to the affected area.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has advised the public to brace for heavy traffic because of the incident. 

FIRE UPDATE: Expect heavy traffic at Katipunan Miriam infornt of Shoppersville SB.Please take alternate routes.#mmda pic.twitter.com/DoCcpHfYDm

— Official MMDA (@MMDA) 13 July 2016

The fire was declared out at 9:50 a.m., according to the MMDA.

FIRE ALERT UPDATE: Residential at Katipunan Miriam/Shoppersville SB Quezon City. Fire out as of 9:50 AM. #mmda

— Official MMDA (@MMDA) July 14, 2016

Possible cause

In her live report on News To Go, GMA News' Maki Pulido said personnel in the supermarket first tried to kill the fire by themselves, but eventually called for firefighters' help, which arrived around 4:40 a.m.

The Bureau of Fire Protection declared the fire under control five minutes later, but smoke broke out at the second floor of the establishment about two hours later.

Authorities said this could be because the smoke crept up the air vent, and there are many combustible items at the second floor, which housed a department store.

The report quoted Sr. Supt. Jesus Fernandez, Quezon City district fire marshall, as saying the fire may have been caused by appliances left plugged in overnight, such as freezers that store food items.

Authorities, however, said the fire is unlikely to spread to neighboring establishments, including a gasoline station and a residential area at the back.

Homeowners there are on standby, but rely on the firewall that separates the supermarket from their area.

At around 7 a.m., they asked the Multiple Intelligence International School, located at the back of Shoppersville, to cancel their classes because of the thick smoke from the fire.

The nearby Miriam College is expected not to be affected.

The fire caused a gridlock along Katipunan earlier in the day, with fire trucks occupying at least three lanes there.

Meanwhile, the family that owns Shoppersville assured that they will work on reopening the supermarket, given that many of their employees have been working for them for decades, the report said.

Damage was estimated to cost P10 million, a report on GMA News TV's QRT said. — with Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/KG/RSJ, GMA News