ROXAS City – A riverside area at the back of the public plaza has been officially designated as the firecracker and pyrotechnic products trade zone here.
The city government announced this in line with the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The area was also where the retail and sale of fireworks and firecrackers were made in the past years, said Fire Officer 1 Don Anthony Falcis, Bureau of Fire Protection – Roxas City public information officer.
“At least 32 applicants for firecracker and fireworks retail have undergone a fire safety seminar,” he said.
The retailers are required to use metal in putting up stall partitions, display no-smoking and no-testing signage, and ensure that fire extinguishers, sand and water as “must-have” items in their respective stalls.
The noisemaker and lights display products sold outside of the officially designated firecracker trade zone in the city will be confiscated to ensure the safety of the public, said Falcis.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health still pushes for the “Oplan Iwas Paputok, Fireworks Display ang Patok” campaign through the use of traditional and indigenous noisemakers and a communal fireworks display, said the agency’s Capiz public information officer Joeffry Espiritu.
Concerned government agencies will start monitoring and reporting firecracker-, fireworks- and stray bullet-related incidents on Dec. 21. (With PIA /PN)
