BFP records 89 fire incidents from Dec. 24 - Jan. 1
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said Sunday it registered 89 fire incidents from December 24, 2022 to January 1, 2023.
The number of fires was 44% lower than the fire incidents recorded during the same period last year which was 160, said BFP spokesperson Fire Superintendent Analee Atienza.
“Sa datos natin, related po ito sa electrical ignition, ito po ‘yung mga kuryente natin, at majority ay residential ang mga fire incidents na ito. Pumapangatlo ang smoking. ‘Yan ang ating mga top causes of fire,” she said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.
(According to our data, the fire incidents are mostly related to electrical ignition, and the majority of these fire incidents are residential. Smoking comes third. These are our top causes of fires.)
With this, Atienza called on the public to always check their power lines to avoid fire incidents in residential areas. She also urged them to coordinate with the BFP to identify the fire hazards in their respective areas.
Firearms procurement
Atienza said that the BFP will start its modernization program in 2023, noting that 191 municipalities are still not equipped with firetrucks and are without activated fire stations.
In 2021, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11589, “An Act Strengthening and Modernizing the Bureau of Fire Protection and Appropriating Funds,” into law.
With this measure, firefighters will not only carry water cannons but also firearms.
BFP Chief Director Louie Puracan said they were supposed to procure 2,282 firearms for personnel in 146 cities and 72 regional offices.
However, the Department of Budget and Management "begged to defer" the funding for firearms procurement due to a shortage of funds.
Puracan then asked the DBM to authorize the BFP to use its P94-million savings from fire truck procurement for the purchase of firearms which will cost around P45 million. — DVM, GMA Integrated News