EDITORIAL - Avoid fires at all costs

The other night a fire gutted three stores in Minglanilla. Fortunately, there were no reported casualties. It was just one of the recent fire incidents to hit different areas of Cebu recently.

In Cebu City alone, a fire in Barangay Basak-San Nicolas, Cebu City, razed three houses just last Monday, while last Good Friday an elderly woman died after a fire broke out in SitioBanika, Barangay Lahug. Just a few days ago, there was also a grass fire in the mountain barangay of Sirao. It was big enough to be seen from the lowland barangays.

During these times we must safeguard against fire at all costs. We just cannot afford to deal with one considering the current health crisis we are having right now, especially a big fire that leaves dozens, if not hundreds, homeless. 

Let’s say, God forbid, a fire does occur, and as per our usual practice, the survivors are housed in the barangay sports center or the nearest school. We all know how small those places are and how cramped it will quickly become. This will give rise to problems regarding physical distancing, further heightening risks of the spread of the coronavirus.

The local government unit and the barangay will also be further taxed because it now has to take care of the fire survivors, and we all know how busy their personnel are right now, making sure those who lost their livelihood because of the coronavirus get relief goods.

We have good reason to safeguard against fires now more than ever. We may be occasionally experiencing rain, but we are still at the height of the dry season, with the temperature soaring to almost unbearable conditions in different parts of the country.

Also, with majority of people confined to their home due to quarantine, the use of appliances is on the rise. It will be easy to overlook overloading a power outlet or fail to notice if an appliance is overheating.

Not to mention with entire families spending time at home, cooking is a must to keep up the morale, aside from keeping the diet healthy.

We are currently in the midst of dealing with a disaster, one that requires our undivided attention; let’s do all we can to avoid dealing with more than one at the same time.