By Glazyl Masculino
BACOLOD CITY — The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Bacolod recorded a 160% drop in fire incidents, from 109 in January to March 2024 to 42 in the same period this year.
Data show only 22 residential fires occurred this year, down from 44 last year.
There were also three commercial fires, one storage fire, three business or government office fires, two structural fires, and five rubbish fires.
Grass and sugarcane fires, common during the dry season, declined to five this year from 27 last year.
No industrial, mixed-occupancy, educational, detention and correctional, healthcare, assembly, electrical post, or forest fires were reported in the first quarter of 2025.
BFP estimated the total damage at PHP1.6 million this year, significantly lower than last year’s PHP22.8 million.
Two civilians were injured during the same period in 2024, while one injury was reported this year.
February logged the highest number of incidents at 16, followed by March with 14, and January with 11.
Fire Officer 2 Paul Servano, BFP-Bacolod spokesperson, said the decrease is due to intensified fire safety and prevention measures.
Servano said the agency began conducting house-to-house visits in fire-prone areas in the third quarter of last year to educate residents on fire prevention.
He added that BFP has identified 284 fire-prone puroks in the city, where they continue to conduct safety lectures and hazard mapping to strengthen their presence.
Servano also cited weather conditions as a factor, noting that occasional rainfall helped reduce grass fires compared to last year, when the early onset of the El Niño phenomenon led to intense heat.
Woman Yields PHP510,000 Worth of Shabu
Police arrested a 32-year-old woman in a buy-bust operation that led to the seizure of 75 grams of suspected shabu worth PHP510,000 in Purok Sigay, Barangay 2, on Wednesday.
The City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) identified the suspect as “Bebe.”
She allegedly sold a sachet of suspected shabu to a police agent for PHP1,000.
The suspect, tagged as a high-value individual, is under background verification.
She is detained at Police Station 2 and will face charges for the sale and possession of illegal drugs.