ILOILO City – Four fire incidents struck this city in two days – Feb. 22 and 23 – and killed one. The properties hit were all houses.
How could people avoid house fires?
It starts with having the correct electrical wirings, and to do this, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Region 6, let licensed electricians do the work.
According to BFP-6 director, Fire Senior Superintendent Jerry Candido, the most common cause of fire is short circuit.
“This is my advice: hire licensed electricians. Indi kamo magkuha sang mga nakahibalo sa electricity based lang sa experience kag panilag. Dapat may gin tun-an gid para may enough knowledge gid sia,” Candido said.
He also stressed the importance of regular maintenance of electricity connections and avoiding the use of substandard wires.
“Kun substandard imo gamiton na wire, ang tendency dasig maguba then mag sag-id, amo na cause sang short circuit,” said Candido.
On Feb. 23, a 29-year-old woman died of suffocation from the smoke of a fire that struck a two-storey house before dawn at Sta. Rosa Subdivision, Barangay Tagbak, Jaro district.
This was the fourth fire to hit the city in two days. On Feb. 22, fire struck the districts of La Paz, Arevalo and the City Proper – a week before the Fire Prevention Month of March commences.
The first fire was in Barangay Burgos-Mabini, La Paz district. The two-storey house of Eugene Rezano, 53, was gutted at around 8:30 a.m.
The fire reportedly started behind a room on the ground floor.
At about the same time, fire also struck Fatima Subdivision in Barangay Sta Cruz, Arevalo. A house was totally burned, including a Toyota Fortuner.
The house was owned by Godofredo Defensor, 67.
The fire may have started from an unattended stove, initial investigation of the BFP showed.
The third fire struck at around 12:30 p.m. in Barangay General Hughes, City Proper. Ten houses house were totally destroyed and six others were partially damaged.
The blaze started in the house of Alfredo Alvarez and quickly spread to neighbors’ houses.
“Dapat gid naton i-check ang electrical connections kag avoid using substandard wires. Ang mga daan nga koryente islan na ina kay usually amo ina ang ginahalinan sang sunog,” said Candido./PN
