ILOILO City – The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Region 6 warned against illegal power connections after a series of fire incidents last week. It also identified barangays in the city that are prone to fire.
Power pilferage is one of the most common causes of fire, according to BFP Region 6 assistant director for operations Fire Superintendent Crosbee Gumowang.
“Most kasi ang sanhi ng sunog ay ang illegal na pagkabit ng kuryente. Ito ay sanhi ng overloading,” said Gumowang, adding that these cases are more rampant in squatters’ areas.
The structures in these areas are mostly made of light materials, allowing fire to spread quickly.
Illegally tapping electricity is punishable under Section 2 of Republic Act 7832, or the Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994.
Anyone caught violating the law shall be imprisoned or fined from P10,000 to P20,000 or both depending on court’s discretion.
In the city, a total of 12 barangays are fire-prone, said Gumowang on Saturday.
These include Barangay Calaparan in Arevalo; barangays Baluarte, San Juan, Calumpang, West Habog-Habog, and North Habog-Habog in Molo; Barangay Sinikway in Lapuz; Barangay Rizal Lapuz Sur in La Paz; and barangays General Hughes, Veterans, Concepcion, and Rizal Pala-Pala 2 in City Proper.
People living in these thickly populated villages are “unsafe” from fire; they should take extra precaution and avoid power tapping especially during summer, said Gumowang.
The BFP has deployed inspection teams to monitor these areas, he added.
On Jan. 14, fire hit a residential area in Barangay Taal, Molo, where 50 families were displaced.
Properties worth an estimated amount of P900,000 went up in smoke as the blaze totally destroyed 29 houses, also leaving two houses partially damaged.
The cause of the fire was an electrical short circuit, according to Fire Chief Inspector Christopher Regencia, the city fire marshal.
Regencia said his investigators found a telephone cable used for electrical installation which melted when electrical current passed through it, resulting in the biggest fire to hit the city so far this year.
Firefighters declared a “fire out” at 12:18 a.m. of Jan. 15, over three hours after the blaze started at around 9 p.m. the day prior.
Fire was also recorded in Barangay Magsaysay Village on Jan. 15. It lasted for about eight minutes – enough time to completely raze the house of 40-year-old Jose Andojad.
The BFP has estimated the damage to have reached P50,000. The cause of fire was also “electrical in nature,” according to the BFP.
Moreover, fire struck a mall in Barangay Bolilao, Mandurriao on the evening of Jan. 17, leaving around P200,000 damage.
BFP investigation showed that fire spread after it caught the residue of fats in the exhaust area of a restaurant’s chimney at the mall./PN
