Dozens of businesses were destroyed on Monday by a fire at a densely populated market in San Pedro Sula, Honduras’ second-largest city, after flames broke out in a stall storing fireworks, according to preliminary reports from the Fire Department.
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Firefighters said the blaze originated in a business that kept rockets and firecrackers, allowing the fire to spread rapidly through the market. An officer participating in the firefighting operations told reporters, “Fireworks should never have been stored here in the market; look at the tragedy that has just occurred. Many families will be left on the street before the end of the year. This is lamentable.”
The same source said that many vendors have failed to comply with Fire Department orders prohibiting the storage of hazardous products such as gunpowder-based items. Authorities said the total number of businesses affected by the fire has not yet been determined.
Fire officials also reported repeated resistance during safety inspections. According to the officer, when authorities have carried out checks in markets to verify compliance with safety measures, some business owners “have even pulled machetes on authorities when they were asked not to keep gunpowder, to prevent this type of incident.”
🤝🔥 #LoÚltimo | Sampedranos se unen para salvar lo rescatable de los negocios que fueron consumidos por las llamas, tras el incendio que afectó más de 100 locales en SPS
Entre cenizas y pérdidas, la ayuda ciudadana se hace presente en la zona, mientras el Cuerpo de Bomberos… pic.twitter.com/fxolf6Eyc5
— Diario La Prensa (@DiarioLaPrensa) December 30, 2025
Preliminary information indicates that the fire spread across businesses located on a site of approximately 10,000 square meters. Firefighters stressed that authorities should apply stricter oversight of vendors who sell fireworks and firecrackers in popular markets.
After the fire was reported, Honduras’ president-elect, Nasry ‘Tito’ Asfura, announced that he would donate 1.5 million lempiras, about 56,818 U.S. dollars, to support those affected. “We will be watching over them, including the injured,” Asfura said in statements to the television channel Hable Como Habla (HCH) in Tegucigalpa.
Asfura urged affected merchants to “organize themselves” to facilitate the delivery of the funds and ensure their distribution “is fair.” “These are my own resources to serve the people,” he added. Asfura won the presidency under the banner of the conservative National Party.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.