AN OFFICIAL from the Bureau of Fire Protection-Davao Region (BFP-Davao) said that the fire incident percentage in Davao City had increased by about 55 percent from January up to April 8, 2024.
Fire Senior Inspector Frances Marie Senrijas, spokesperson of BFP-Davao, revealed this during the AFP-PNP press conference at the Royal Mandaya Hotel, Davao City on Wednesday morning, April 10, 2024.
“Since January up to April 8, 2024, in Davao City alone, we have total recorded 269 fire incidents na po. If we compare it to the data from last year, 2023, from January to March, we had a total of 173. So, we have observed nagtaas po tayo nang almost 55 percent (Since January up to April 8, 2024, in Davao City alone, we have a total recorded 269 fire incidents. If we compare it to the data from last year, 2023, from January to March, we had a total of 173. So, we have observed that we have increased almost 55 percent),” she said.
Senrijas also pointed out that the top cause of fire incidents in Davao City is open flame from grass, the second is electrical related, and the third is cigarette butts.
Fermin Edillon, spokesperson of Davao Light and Power Company (Davao Light), highlighted that one of the causes of electrical-related fire incidents was the flying connection. He expressed that a flying connection is when a house allows another house to tap into its electricity. This can cause electrical overload which can then cause fire incidents.
“Naa tay ginatawag na flying connection. It’s that from isa ka balay na registered sa amoa na customer mismo is nag sub-distribute na siya. Makadaot gyud na kay mag-overload. (We have what we call a flying connection; it is an extension of electricity from a house that is our registered customer who sub-distributes electricity. It’s really dangerous because it could cause electric overload and will cause fire),” he said.
Sendrijas said that they have an existing campaign entitled “Oplan Ligtas Pamayanan” wherein they will provide lectures to the community on fire safety. She shared that they will go to all the barangays and share insights on what to do to prevent fire incidents from happening. Tricia Pagaran Del Campo, DNSC Intern