Thursday, June 12, 2008 Council to amend rules for LPG refilling stations
THE Cebu City Council is considering drafting an ordinance requiring a set of qualifications for personnel installing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks in homes.
This is after an alleged leak caused an explosion and hurt four persons in Barangay Cogon Pardo, Cebu City the other day.
The incident also damaged an apartment building.
In their regular session yesterday, Vice Mayor Michael Rama wanted the discussion on safety of LPGs taken up again in the zoning board.
“But we should be very careful because we do not want to close refilling stations, but at the same time we want to protect the people,” he said.
Rama said it was a good thing the people living in the building immediately opted to leave after learning of the leaking gas connection.
Homeowners
He suggested that LPG tanks should be placed outside the house, but Councilor Gerardo Carillo said home-owners opt to place the tanks inside because of thieves.
Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said the city has an existing ordinance regulating LPGs, and learned from City Fire Marshal Esmael Codilla that initial investigation on the incident showed that it was due to “error in the installation.”
“There is a need to amend the ordinance, for the qualification of the person installing the tanks. Installers should undergo training because the installation is very critical,” he said.
“Dapat qualified, and those who install should be certified,” he added.
Not installation
Rama agreed, but Councilor Edgardo Labella, who authored the ordinance, said he crafted it with regulating refilling stations in mind, and not the installation of LPG tanks.
Labella said that if the purpose is to safeguard the households, an entirely new ordinance should be crafted.
Councilor Arsenio Pacaña suggested the possibility of a wrongly-installed tank happens at least once a month, when an average household uses up its supply.
He suggested the use of safety gadgets, specifically an auto-shutoff device to minimize the danger.
But Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. said that while such things are available, their prices are “prohibitive” and discourage use.
Carillo promised to have the City Fire Department submit a report and its suggestions to prevent a similar incident from happening again. (RHM)
