City fire chief denies ‘favoritism’

Thursday, February 16, 2012

THE Baguio City’s fire chief recently denied allegations of several fire extinguisher dealers accusing him of irregularities in licensing.

Baguio Fire Marshall Richard Villanueva said his agency’s main focus is to promote fire safety, which is why they are imposing fire extinguisher dealers to strictly comply with the Fire Code of the Philippines.

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Villanueva denied endorsing or favoring any dealer and stressed several of these establishments should comply with the prerequisite of passing the Fire Code before they are given clearance for a license to sell extinguishers, which is issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

However, some unlicensed fire extinguisher dealers recently tried obtaining business permits at City Hall, which prompted Villanueva to write Mayor Mauricio Domogan requesting not to issue business permits until they are able to comply with the Fire Code as a prerequisite to a business permit.

In his letter to the mayor last January 2, he enumerated 17 dealers that have not complied with the Fire Code and DTI requirements.

These dealers include Dan Well Marketing, Flamebuster Marketing, GPS Enterprise, Baronie Industries, ACE Hardware Phils. Inc., TJ Industries and Services, DIY Shop Corporation-Cooyeesan, Pines Electrical Suply and General Merchandise, PROTECT Extinguishers, Livewire Electrical Supply, Jimnor Intertrade, Wil Construct enterprise, Handyman Do-It Best Home Center, Hurricane Industrial Sales and Services, Baguio Electrical Supplies, DIY Shop Corporation-Centermall and Pristine Hardware.

He also revealed some of these fire extinguisher dealers are involved in refilling fire extinguishers without a license on a yearly basis. This, he said, should not be done since a fire extinguisher has an ideal lifespan of three to five years before it is classified as expired.

“Why are they now refilling these fire extinguishers yearly if these were not used?” he said.

He said dealers should also have the technical knowledge in refilling.

“Most of these dealers don’t even know the name of the chemical they use to refill the fire extinguishers,” he said.

He said some fire extinguishers sold by some dealers have been proven to have malfunctioned during previous fire incidents, which prompted the fire department to strictly enforce the Fire Code and standards in fire extinguisher sale.

He also denied allegations of fire extinguisher dealers that personnel of the fire department are involved in the actual sale of fire extinguishers.

He, however, did not deny that some licensed dealers have been transacting business inside the premises of the Baguio Fire Department.

In previous years, the agency allowed the dealers to operate because they have been showing DTI certifications, which according to him, when verified, only apply to the Business Name Registration and not the license to sell fire extinguishers.

The fire chief challenged the dealers to make their businesses legal by complying with the Fire Code of the Philippines.

Among these requirements include licensed certificates for fire extinguisher business, for technician, for salesman; and certificate of dealership from an ISO-licensed manufacturer retailer or service firm.