Senator Cynthia A. Villar renewed her call for unity and cooperation to prevent fire during the 2024 Fire Prevention Month celebration at the Villar Foundation Hall in Las Piñas City on Saturday.
Villar said these traits are embodied in the celebration’s theme for this year, “Sa Pag-iwas sa Sunog, Hindi ka Nag-iisa.”
“I believe that instead of depending on our firefighters to put off fires, everyone must be responsible to avoid causing fires,” Villar said.
She said March was declared “Fire Prevention Month” in 1966 under Proclamation No. 115-A since this is the start of the summer season in the Philippines.
“And based on statistics, fire incidents in the country increase during March,” also said Villar.
Villar said in the Philippines, the major causes of fires in residential areas are defective electrical connections and electrical overloading, unattended candlelight, a stove or oven which was not turned off, cigarette butts, and storage of combustible materials like paint.
She related that they also been embarking on activities to increase awareness and knowledge of residents and communities in preventing fires.
She related data from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) showing that a 25 percent increase in the number of fire incidents in the first two months of this year.
Since January 1 until March 1, 3,044 fires occurred. In the same period last year, there were 2,424 fire incidents. Records from the BFP also shows that 15,900 fires occurred in 2023 which is 21 percent higher than the 13,133 fire incidents in 2022.
According to the senator, they intend to lower the number of fire incidents to guarantee the safety of our people.
“So we are continuously reminding our people about the causes of fires and how to prevent them particularly during this Fire Prevention Month.”
A Fire Safety Lecture for the public was held. The topics included Fire Causes, Development Stages, Classes of Fire and Contributing Factors, Good housekeeping on Cooking and keeping LPG, Electrical Fire Safety at Home, Exit Drills In The Home or EDITH (Emergency Drill In The Home) and Fire Suppression Methods using Ordinary Materials. There was also Fire Extinguishment Drills by the fire personnel from BFRV Fire Station and C5 Fire Station.