By Joseph B.A. Marzan
The regional director of the Bureau of Fire Protection-Region 6 (BFP-6) on Friday said fire incidents in the region went down in 2020.
BFP-6 Regional Director Senior Superintendent Jerry Candido “happily” told Daily Guardian on Air that blazes in the region decreased by 17.62%.
This was mainly due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, which forced many people to stay in their homes.
He added that this was also due to BFP personnel continuously monitoring the communities for possible fire hazards.
According to Candido, the BFP-6 recruits up to more than 200 new personnel annually, which he said was “enough” for each municipality under his jurisdiction.
But he also said that Western Visayas region alone needs up to 3,500 more personnel to reach the ideal manpower size in each municipality.
“Eighty percent of 2020 was in a pandemic, but we are happy that we have decreased by 17.62% of fire incidences or actual fires. While many people were forced to stay in our homes, we have many activities inside, at the same time, many [BFP] people are monitoring as well, and we have become more careful. We have also continued our fire prevention campaigns online,” Candido said.
Candido also revealed that the top cause of fires was still “electrically-related”.
He said that the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic may have contributed to fires caused by faulty electrical installations, as well as “jumper” or illegal connections.
“The problem there is also economic. The number one cause of fire is electrical in nature, mainly electrical wiring. Since the best way to prevent this is to change the electrical installation, this is expensive, and this is what we can’t decrease, the percentage of the electrical nature. We keep repeating that people should not do this to prevent any hazards for them and the community,” he said.
FIRE PREVENTION MONTH
The BFP-6 already has activities lined up for Fire Prevention Month in March despite the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The observance of the Fire Prevention Month in March of every year was first mandated by Presidential Proclamation 115-A issued by Ferdinand Marcos on November 17, 1966.
The proclamation designates each year as a “Safety and Prevention Year”, with an assigned hazard for each month for a “positive preventive approach” to such hazards.
The BFP continuously releases fire prevention information throughout the year, but amps up its campaigns annually every March.
2021 would be the first time that the Fire Prevention Month would be held by the BFP on a scaled-back approach due to the pandemic.
Last year’s activities were indefinitely postponed due to nationwide lockdown restrictions imposed by the national government and local authorities.
Candido said that they will kick off the Fire Prevention Month on Monday, March 1.
The first activity will be the traditional motorcade starting at 6:00AM on the said date, which Candido said was permitted by the Iloilo City Government.
He also said that they could not suspend the motorcade because it was important “to awaken fire consciousness” of the public.
“We had to ask permission from the Iloilo City Government because we have to follow protocols. We were allowed to conduct the motorcade. We cannot suspend the motorcade because this will awaken fire consciousness and fire awareness in the community,” Candido said.
