The Bureau of Fire in Davao Region (BFP-Davao) reported that fire incidents in the region are accidental and mainly involve residential establishments, said the chief of Fire Safety Enforcement Division CINSP. Joey MIlitar.
Militar said that 92.45 percent of the total 914 fire incidents as of October 20 this year are accidental while 0.44 percent are caused by arson. The rest, particularly 6.65 percent, are still being investigated.
The type of occupancy involved in these fire incidents is primarily residential, followed by industrial occupancies such as factories, then mercantile or commercial occupancy.
At the same time, 48.91 percent of the said number of fire incidents took place in Davao City, the rest are in other provinces and municipalities.
“Makita nato accidental (and residential) gyod so kailangan nato i-capacitate ang awareness ug knowledge sa publiko para maging aware sa threat sa fire (The data shows that fire incidents are mostly accidental and in residential areas so we really need to capacitate our communities and make them aware of the threats of fire),” Militar said during the Kapihan sa PIA media forum on Friday, November 25.
In line with this, Militar said BFP-Davao is relaunching the Oplan Ligtas na Pamayanan with the Handang Pamayanan program component that would focus on community-based preparedness in different barangays.
“Ang program ato is may ma-assign na bombero sa kada area together with the barangay counter part Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (BDRRMC) para makahimo og community fire protection plan (Our program assigns BFP-Davao personnel in different areas together with their respective BDRRMC to come up with a fire protection plan for the communities),” Militar said.
He added that through the program, BFP-Davao in coordination with barangay authorities aims to survey areas of each barangays and classify its degree of hazard.
The Oplan Ligtas na Pamayanan was initially launched in 2019 but was stalled during the onset of Covid-19 in the country and became Oplan Ligtas na Pamayanan On the Road during the height of the pandemic. ICM