- 3 houses razed as city marks March as fire prevention month
A FIRE gobbled three houses in Purok 8, Zone 2, Km 13 in Panacan, around 3:49 p.m. on Sunday, March 3, injuring two individuals and causing an estimated P1 million in damage.
Senior Fire Officer 4 Ramil Gillado, intelligence officer of the Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP) XI, identified the injured as Jane Bustamante, 23, who sustained a forearm abrasion, and Jeffrey Gerarcas, 32, who experienced leg swelling.
According to the report of Sasa police, the fire started at the establishment owned by Amalia Bustamante and the flames immediately spread to the next structure owned by Melody Galamdam, 49, married.
Panacan Fire Station and Sasa Fire Station firefighters and volunteers immediately responded to the scene.
FO2 Arnold Valdez Casinillo-IOC, fire Investigator of Panacan Fire Station, said a fire-out was declared at around 5:30 p.m.
On the other hand, the Davao City Fire District prepared various activities in line with the Fire Prevention Month in March.
Fire Senior Inspector Frances Marie Sendrijas, chief of the Public Information Unit of the Davao City Fire District, said a fire square roadshow is scheduled from March 9 to March 10.
Meanwhile, from March 22 to March 23, they will hold a two-day combat challenge for the fire Olympics to be participated in by different barangay volunteers, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and private companies, including the organic personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection XI.
Sendrijas March typically sees an increase in fire incidents due to the transition from dry to rainy season. She also said that the BFP has recently recorded a decrease in the damages sustained during fire incidents compared to last year’s record of P23 million.
From January to February 2023, they recorded 89 fire incidents against the present record of 108.
“This can be observed through our last year’s record of damage worth P23 million, currently, we have recorded P7 million worth of damage,” she said.
According to Sendrijas, they use the damage amount as an indicator of whether or not to classify the incident as “big.”
Currently, there are 15 fire stations in the city with fire trucks for every station. Sendrijas assured the public that although they still need more resources, their personnel remain capable of responding to different emergencies in the city.
