EDITORIAL - Fires still a threat

March is designated as fire prevention month because of the frequency of fires during this month. However, March is long over but fires still happen frequently. The deep wail of fire sirens has become one sound we hear so often and have become used to.

The other day, a dawn fire caused P15 million in damage to a Mandaue lumber store. Thankfully, there were no reports of injuries.

There was also a minor fire in Horseshoe Drive, Sitio Banawa, Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City in the afternoon of that same day.

Just last Monday, a fire in District 4, Barangay Pulpogan, Consolacion town, left 35 families homeless.

Last April 9, a dawn fire in A. Lopez Street, Sitio Mahayahay, Barangay Calamba, Cebu City also left 25 families homeless.

A day earlier on April 8, a fire that hit Barangay Tisa, Cebu City destroyed three houses. A child was injured in the incident.

April 5, Easter Sunday, a dormitory was hit by a fire in Barangay Sta. Cruz, Cebu City.

And then on April 1, Maundy Thursday, a fire also destroyed a hardware in Barangay Maguikay, Mandaue City.

There are other fires outside the metro that were no longer included in this list. The list is long enough already.

Those were just the fires that happened in April, not counting the other 88 fires that happened during Fire Prevention Month.

This just goes to show that even after Fire Prevention Month has ended, our vigilance against fire should still continue.

A fire is one of the worst disasters that can hit you. At best, you can just suffer some damage to your home. At worst, you can lose everything you own, or even the ones you love. Most people in this situation have to start from scratch.

Becoming a fire victim during this time of the pandemic is even double the disaster. If you can’t stay with relatives, you can expect to be put up in the local evacuation center, usually the barangay gymnasium or the elementary school, where you can expect to be living in close quarters with other people, raising the risk of catching or spreading COVID-19.

This is why even as we are well into April, which is not Fire Prevention Month, we should still strive to prevent fires.

In preventing fires, we prevent even more suffering COVID-19 is causing us now.