EDITORIAL – Promoting fire safety

Not five days into the new year 2020 there have already been two major fires in Cebu City. Before anyone else forgets, toward the end of last year there was also a major fire during Christmas Day that claimed one life.

It’s time to really ask ourselves if we are doing everything we should to prevent fires. How can we make the city a safer place when it comes to preventing these disasters?

Whether we admit it or not, there are things many of us still do that practically constitute fire hazards.

For instance, the continued use of butane by certain households. There was an incident in Mandaue City yesterday where a butane fire suddenly burst out of control. Fortunately, a man was able to contain and extinguish the fire before it could spread all over his house and neighboring houses.

Yes, cooking with butane may be cheaper than other alternatives, but is the risk to safety really worth it?

Luck was on his side that time, but what about the next time it happens?

Another thing many of us do is build our dwellings too close to the next one. Or build where we shouldn’t. This does not only make it easier for fires to spread, it will also make it harder for firefighters to get to affected areas. This will also make evacuation from fire-hit areas more difficult.

Yet another thing other people do is illegally tap power. This is usually done by people without professional training. As a result the illegal connections become fire hazards, yet people still do this anyway.

These are other safety practices should be taken to heart by any citizen in any major metropolis.

Rising temperatures from climate change isn’t making the world any safer. We only need to look at what is happening in Australia right now to see that truth.

Australia’s bush fires are a natural phenomenon. However, these fires are running out of control now because of climate change and the heat wave that country is currently experiencing. God forbid that that should happen here.

Now more than ever is the time to promote fire safety.