THE Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) yesterday said 2,032 fire incidents were recorded throughout the country so far this March.
By virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 115-A, the month of March was declared as Fire Prevention Month because of the alarming increase of fire incidents happening across the country during this particular period
Data from the BFP showed the fire incidents, recorded from March 1 to March 26, increased by 18.2 percent, or from 1,719 cases recorded during the same month last year.
The BFP said 1,047 of these incidents were non-structural fires, 904 structural fires, and 81 vehicular fires.
The top two causes of the fires, the BFP said, were open flame from cooking and “rubbish fire/bonfire to structural fire” (275 cases), and smoking or lighted cigarettes (150 cases).
The bureau also reported that 42 civilians died in this month’s fire incidents, up from 29 last year.
On the other hand, the number of civilians injured decreased to 116, from 125 last year.
The BFP placed the number of its personnel who were injured while responding to these fires at 13, from just five last year. There were no reported deaths.
The BFP report also said P1.23 billion worth of property were damaged by fires this month, compared to P908.08 million last year.
During the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing, BFP spokesperson Senior Supt. Analee Atienza said the bureau has recorded 5,174 fire incidents from January 1 to March 26, which is higher than the 4,077 cases during the same period last year.
“The incidents increased by 26.9 percent and majority of these occurred in residential areas,” said Atienza.
Atienza said the three leading causes of these fires were rubbish fire to structural fire, smoking or lighted cigarettes, and open flame from cooking.
Asked if they find the increase alarming, Atienza told a phone interview: “Of course. The mere fact that there is an increase, something is missing.”
She attributed the increase to the community’s lack of knowledge in preventing fire, stressing that majority of these fires occurred in residential areas, pointing out that many of the residences hit by fire were informal settlement.
“We all know that residences are not covered by (regular) fire safety inspection under the fire code,” she added.
BFP data showed that the fires recorded from January to March this year caused P2.66 billion in damage to property, compared to P2.08 billion during the same period last year.
A total of 112 civilians died and 331 others were injured, from 71 dead and 288 injured last year. There were no BFP personnel who died this year and last year but the injured BFP personnel rose to 34, from 13 last year.