PREVENT FIRE, PUBLIC URGED

Bureau of Fire Protection 7, through its Oplan Ligtas Pamayanan, has been conducting house-to-house visitations to check the fire safety of households, starting in Cebu City last Feb. 7

You can slay all your enemies in your mobile game but make sure that your house is safe from unattended fires.

This was the advice of Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) 7 Chief of Safety Enforcement Division Josephus Alburo to the community.

“With the growing popularity of mobile games and the need to be always connected to the internet, one should also use the internet for good in disaster-preparedness,” Alburo said.

He warned the public against playing popular games while cooking or charging their phones.

“They should be careful in their addiction to these mobile games because it might cost them their lives,” he said.

In Central Visayas, the top three causes of fire are electrical ignition because of loose connection, open flame from cooking (LPG/gas stove, firewood) and open flame from unattended lighted candles.

Survey

With the BFP 7’s program Oplan Ligtas Pamayanan, firefighters are conducting houseto-house visitations to check fire safety of every household. It started last Feb. 7 in Cebu City.

Cebu City Fire Marshal Noel Nelson Ababon said they are conducting household surveys in Barangays Cogon, Suba, Tisa, Sambag II, T. Padilla, Hipodromo, Talamban, Camputhaw and Capitol Site.

The survey is aimed at determining the community’s fire protection plan.

“Every household will be given recommendations on how they can improve or upgrade their electrical lines to help avoid fires in their homes,” Ababon said.

Since the beginning of the year, the Cebu City Fire Station has recorded 73 fire alarms with damage amounting to P5,883,200.

Ababon said they are targeting to finish conducting the fire prevention program in the 80 barangays of Cebu City by the end of the year.

“We appeal to the Cebuanos to also participate in our programs and welcome our firefighters in their areas because it is for their own good,” he said.

To cap off Fire Prevention Month, the BFP 7 will conduct a simultaneous fire drill with fire alarm simulations in Metro Cebu in the last week of March to test and teach the public how to contain and stop fires. It will be the first in the province.