IN THE first two months of 2022, at least two fire incidents occurred in Angeles City, one in Barangay San Jose in January 22 and the most recent one in the Airland Supermarket infront of the Sto. Rosario Elementary School in Angeles City on Sunday night, March 6.
Coincidentally, the observance of the Fire Prevention Month falls on the month of March and it may be logically done during this month as the summer season officially begins. The annual nationwide celebration of Fire Prevention, spearheaded by the Bureau of Fire Protection or BFP through activities, seminars and awareness campaigns administered in local government units, firefighting agencies, schools, and other institutions, is highly needed to remind us of how we can avoid such tragic fire incidents from happening again.
The BFP is mandated to prevent and suppress all kinds of destructive fires, investigate its causes, enforce fire-related laws and provide emergency medical and rescue services, shall anchor all the activities for the Fire Prevention Month towards fire safety at home by introducing innovative programs and activities leading towards motivating the public to take fire safety as everyone’s concern.
It was in the year 1967 when the observance of the Fire Prevention Month began during the term of former president Ferdinand Marcos through Presidential Proclamation 115-A issued on November 17, 1966. The month of March was chosen for this observance since it marks the start of the hot season when most fires occur.
With this year’s theme “Sa pag-iwas sa Sunog Di Ka Nag-iisa,” BFP kicked off the Fire Prevention Month last March 1. This year’s theme aims to give the public massive information and awareness to battle against fire and how everyone in the community can work together to prevent fire tragedies from happening.
Here are following fire prevention measures we can practice to ensure fire prevention in our own homes: proper installation and maintenance of electrical connections, avoiding the use of metal items like staples or nails to fasten electric cords, proper maintenance of electric cords, proper use, storage, and maintenance of all electrical appliances, unplugging of electrical appliances after use, proper connection and maintenance of gas stoves and LPG tanks, keeping flammable liquids, matches, and lighters out of children’s reach, avoiding smoking indoors and making sure that cigarette butts are fully extinguished when discarding them, making sure that lighted candles and mosquito coils are never left unattended, obeying of “no smoking” signs, installation and maintenance of fire detection and prevention devices, securing an appropriate and effective fire extinguisher for your home, which should be DTI- certified, proper storage of flammable items, keeping flammable objects away from stoves and other heating devices, and observing vigilance when cooking.
The BFP says it aims to promote volunteer fire departments around the country, as these community-based organizations are crucial in raising awareness about basic fire safety and prevention practices. For this year, the Fire Prevention Month also coincides to the gradual return to normal activities as the steady decline of Covid-19 cases has been observed in the recent weeks. The BFP notes that "the risk of fires could rise as factories, shopping malls, retail businesses, and company offices resume operations that had been stopped or slowed during the pandemic. As a result, rising awareness in reducing dangers should be observed."