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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Friday, December 23, 2016
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ILOILO City – Firecrackers and pyrotechnics may only be sold or bought in identified areas.
Citing the need for a “more fire-safe holiday (season)”, Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog issued an executive order identifying several firecracker zones.
These areas located in the districts of Arevalo, La Paz, Jaro, Molo, Mandurriao, and City Proper were recommended by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) that earlier wanted only one spot where firecracker vendors can d business, citing public safety concerns.
The firecrackers’ “unregulated presence anywhere may pose danger to the safety of the public and the tranquility of society”, stressed Mabilog in Executive Order number 87 series of 2016, thus the need to set zones where they could only be sold or bought.
In the City Proper, firecracker stalls formerly allowed at Plaza Libertad have been moved to open spaces on Muelle Loney Street facing the Iloilo River – from the entrance of the former Iloilo-Bacolod Ferry Terminal – with a distance of approximately 80 meters more or less.
Mabilog said the executive order takes effect immediately and will remain valid until Dec. 31, 2013.
In Arevalo, contrary to what had been customary, no stalls shall be allowed on the streets.
Mabilog said firecracker stalls will be inside the district plaza, between Sta. Felomina Gym and Arevalo church, across the Arevalo police station going to the health center.
In La Paz, firecracker stalls must be inside the public plaza, near the left wing and the right wing of the grandstand, across the La Paz Fire Substation.
The left wing of the grandstand can accommodate approximately eight stalls while the right wing can accommodate approximately six.
Just last week, Candido told firecracker vendors they have to follow the requirements BFP would be laying down or they would be removed from the plazas. He had campaigned for the banning of firecracker selling in public plazas but Mabilog wanted to balance public safety with the vendors’ economic welfare.
“We agreed nga pwede man gihapon sa plazas provided sa sulod sang plaza,” Candido told Panay News.
In Jaro, firecracker stalls must be inside the plaza, in front of E. Lopez Street, from across Ted’s La Paz Batchoy to Andok’s restaurant. They will occupy the areas previously designated for ukay-ukay stalls.
Still in Jaro, the roadside of the Iloilo Circumferential Road 1 (C1) in Barangay Buhang (covering a distance of 100 meters) has also been identified as a firecracker zone.
In Molo, firecracker stalls must be inside the public plaza occupying some 39 meters from Locsin Street to Jocson Street, from across the Molo Fire Substation and the public market. Vehicles will be prohibited from parking in this location.
In Mandurriao, the stalls must be inside the public plaza, too, at the activity area adjacent to the basketball court and children’s playground, and across the church.
The conditions of BFP for the firecracker vendors are the following:
* Firecracker stalls should be at least one meter apart from each other.
* Each firecracker stall should have a firewall (2m x 4m) on both sides, with the inner wall made of Hardiflex boards and the outer wall made of galvanized iron sheets.
* Stalls must use LED lamps for lighting.
* There should be no electrical outlets in the stalls.
* Stalls must display the signboard “No Smoking, No Testing” and BFP’s emergency numbers.
“Also, there must be at least one unit 10-pounder dried chemical fire extinguisher in the area,” said Candido.
A few years back, fire hit one firecracker stall at Jaro Plaza on New Year’s Eve and this spread to other stalls.
BFP personnel will be regularly checking firecracker stalls.
Candido originally proposed that the selling be done only in one area – Arevalo district, and specifically along the long stretch of the circumferential road in Barangay San Jose.
The circumferential road in Barangay San Jose was an open space far from residences and business establishments, thus it was very safe for firecracker selling, he explained./PN
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