In 2012 regionwide: Fire incidents up by 19%

By EJ Dominic Fernandez
FIRE incidents in Region 11 reached 462 in 2012, up 19 percent to compared to 387 in 2011.
This was bared Nestor Jimenez, chief of fire safety, intelligence and investigation of Bureau of Fire Protection in Region 11 during the Kapehan sa Dabaw, SM Annex, Ecoland yesterday.
The BFP is observing nationwide the 37th Fire Prevention Month this March.
He said the damage caused by fire incidents in the region hit P320 million in 2012 from only P215 million in 2011 with 25 people dead and 28 others injured compared to 21 dead and 28 injured in 2011.
Among the provinces, Davao del Norte led with the most number of fire incidents with 106 cases, followed by Davao del Sur (no figures), Compostela Valley (no figures), and Davao Oriental with only 43 cases. Davao City, however, topped them all with 197 incidents in 2012, according to Jimenez.
He said that experience showed that 50 to 60 percent of fire incidents are caused by short-circuits in the electrical system of houses and establishments, reminding everyone that “the best remedy for this is inspection and maintenance on the wires, if possible every day, by a competent electrician.”
Jimenez rued the fact that the BFP until today only has one truck with a ladder that could reach only up to the 5th floor, despite the proliferation of high-rise building as tall as more than 20 floors. “This is a nationwide problem, which is why we always include this in our plans and programs, especially issues on our equipment,” Jimenez said.
“Luckily, out of the 32 fire trucks that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has purchased, Davao City is one of the recipients of a Rosenbauer firetruck whose ladder can reach up to the 8th floor,” he added.
With “Sunog at sakuna pag handaan, kalikasan ay pangalagaan ng matamasa ang pagunlad ng bayan,” as the main theme of the 37th fire prevention month, Jimenez said the highlight of the celebration is the Fire Olympics which will be held at the Crocodile Park on March 20 to showcase the skills of the firefighters of the government and barangay volunteers.
Jimenez clarified that suppression of fire is just 20 percent of the firefighter’s job while 80 percent is on Information and Education Dissemination (IED), which is why BFP conducts the “barangay ugnayan” program where firefighters visit houses to inform and educate residents about fire prevention.
“We would like to emphasize that the best thing to do to avoid fire incidents is to remove and double check appliance outlets before leaving your house since electrical short-circuit is the leading reason for fire cases,” he said.