BFP: More fires recorded in 2022

CEBU, Philippines —  Central Visayas has recorded more fire incidents in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-7.

Arnel Abella, the City Fire Marshall of the Mandaue City Fire Station, said that based on their record, there were a total of 818 fire incidents recorded for Region-7 in 2022.

The figure increased by 10 percent in 2021, when the recorded fire incidents were just 744.

Abella said all of these incidents recorded were structural fires or blazes from residential houses, although they have also recorded a few cases of vehicular fires.

He cited that one of the common reasons for fire, based on their data, stemmed from unattended appliances.

Abella explained that this could have been because of the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions in 2022.

"Last year, people started going out, and there were fewer work-from-home setups. Everything seemed back to normal. So, that is one probable reason," said Abella.

For damages, the region logged about P700 million in damages to properties for 2022, an increase of roughly 118 percent from 2021, where the damages recorded were roughly P300 million.

Abella encouraged people to be cautious enough in terms of fire safety to avoid any fire incidents in their households.

He also announced that they would bring back their house-to-house inspection and Information, Education & Communication (IEC) campaigns to increase public awareness when dealing with fire incidents.

The measure was postponed during the height of the pandemic, which mainly focuses on giving people fire safety tips and the BFP checking the wirings particularly in the fire-prone residences.

"We educate and empower the community so that once there is a fire in the area, they can respond on their own to help our fire respondents contain the fire," said Abella. —  GAN (FREEMAN)