THE BUREAU of Fire Protection-Davao did not record any fire incidents on Christmas Day and New Year.
“Sa pasko og New Year wala ta’y natala nga sunog pero in between Christmas and New Year duna ta’y natala, kadtong Dec. 27 (We did not record any incident on Christmas and New Year, but we had one incident in between, that was on Dec. 27),” Fire Senior Inspector Richard Quiboquibo, chief of the Fire Safety Enforcement Branch of the Bureau of Fire Protection XI, said in an interview with Davao City Disaster Radio on Thursday.
He said the cause of the Dec. 27 fire, which razed two houses and damaged another two, is still being investigated.
However, Quiboquibo noted that more fire incidents occurred in 2024 than in 2023, although the property damage amount was lesser.
“Ni-lesser siya kay ang mga tao kabalo napud unsa ang buhaton in case of fire. Basically, naga-tawag sila sa 911, ug ang 911 mutawag direct sa station (When it comes to the estimated damage, it was lesser because people already know what to do when there is fire),” he said.
He added they sometimes arrived at the scene only to declare a fire-out because residents already put out the flames.
Quiboquibo also said they conduct house-to-house visits to teach basic fire suppression, which has been used well by the communities.
Electrical problems remain the primary cause of fire incidents. Smoking-related incidents also belonged to the top five causes.
Quiboquibo reminded Davaoeños to unplug electrical devices when leaving the house, turn off LPG tanks after cooking, and for smokers to dispose of their cigarettes properly.
File Photo by Bing Gonzales
