EDITORIAL - Waiting for capability upgrade

Since the start of the year, the Bureau of Fire Protection has recorded a total of 3,633 fires across the country. So it’s good to see the BFP putting on display 245 of its fire trucks as the country kicked off yesterday the annual observance of Fire Prevention Month.

The BFP is aiming for a Guinness World Record for the longest parade of fire trucks. The record is currently held by the United States, where the Atoka Fire Department in Oklahoma paraded 220 fire engines in January 2012.

Still needing Guinness validation, the BFP parade must not distract the national leadership from the continuing shortage of fire trucks. As of June last year, the BFP counted 2,104 serviceable fire trucks across the country, with some about 30 years old. The ideal number, for the country’s population, is about 3,600 fire trucks, according to BFP officials.

Even with the private sector contributing fire trucks and volunteer firefighters especially in crowded urban centers, the country’s capability to deal with fires remains inadequate. Fire trucks are needed not only during the thousands of blazes that are recorded every year – there were 18,612 incidents in 2019 – but also during earthquakes when multiple fires may break out. BSP officials said losing bidders have stalled the procurement of more fire trucks. The biggest shortage is recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

In the weeks before the start of Fire Prevention Month, the country also saw another fire-related calamity: forest fires that have destroyed large swaths of precious pines and other trees in the Cordilleras. Such fires require special firefighting equipment.

The public cannot be reminded enough about the importance of fire prevention. The BSP says the principal causes of fires have been consistent: the first is faulty electrical connection, followed by lighted cigarette butts, and open fires such as torches.

There were more fires last year compared to the incidents recorded in 2018. From Jan. 1 to Dec. 11 last year, fires killed 326 civilians and four firefighters. In Metro Manila alone, 92 civilians died in 4,352 fires during that period. Upgrading the country’s firefighting capability is long overdue.