FIRE incidents in Davao City dropped by 50.7 percent in the first half of this year with 168 recorded compared to 331 fire incidents in the same period last year.
According to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Davao Fire and Arson investigator Senior Fire Officer 2 Ramil Gillado, most of the fire incidents were from residential houses.
However, it was noted that though fire incident is lower this year, the amount of damage is higher compared to the same period last year.
Based on their data, from January to June 2016, there were P61 million worth of damages brought by fire incidents while P619 million worth of properties were razed by fire this year.
He cited that one of the factors why the amount of damages this year is higher was because of business establishments and houses that were razed in a fire incident at Lizada Street, Barangay 26-C, last February that lasted for several days. The damages reached to P33 million.
Aside from that, the Lapanday box plant fire incident last April which was burned down by communist groups equated to around P500 million.
The latest incident is the fire that hit Sagrex Corporation at Coaco Street, Sasa, Davao City, with property damages pegged at P35 million.
He added that last year, there were 13 casualties while there were only three this year.
Electrical faults remained to be the leading cause of fire incidents in Davao City.
The BFP continues its awareness campaign for the public to know safe practices to prevent fire outbreaks in their communities.
They are currently conducting safety lectures, seminars, and drills as well as intensify fire safety inspection among business establishments to determine if the standard safety measures are being applied.