BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio City Fire Station (BCFS) recorded ninety six fire incidents in the city last year which is some twenty percent higher than the seventy nine fires that were documented by the said office in the previous year.
Senior Fire Officer (SFO) 1 Lloyd Ashley Forigay, BCFS public information officer, said that structural fire recorded the highest number of incidents with 57 followed by grass fires 18, forest fires – 11, vehicular fires-7, garbage fires – 2 and electrical fire – 1.
The highest number of combined fire incidents in the city happened in February with 16 followed by March with 14, May – 11, April and December with 10 incidents each, July and August – 8 incidents each, January – 5, September and October – 4 incidents each and June and November – 3 incidents each.
In 2023, the BCFS documented 45 structural fires, 12 grass fires, 9 forest fires, 7 vehicular fires, 4 garbage fires and 2 electrical fires.
During the said year, the highest number of fire incidents happened in March with 20 followed by February with 15, January – 10, December – 6, June – 5, May, July, August and November – 4 incidents each, April – 3 and September and October – 2 incidents each.
The common causes of fire incidents during the said periods are electrical ignition, lighted cigarettes, loose electrical connections among others.
Forigay urged the public to be mindful of the fire safety tips that are posted in the social media account of the BCFS to prevent the occurrence of fire incidents that may compromise the safety of life and limb.
He pointed out that fire prevention is everyone’s concern and the fire can happen anytime, thus, people must be fully aware of the basic fire prevention and firefighting tips to help in deterring the occurrence of fires not only in their homes but also in their workplaces or around them. By Dexter A. See