ILOILO City – Of this city’s 180 barangays, 60 were deemed fire-prone by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) but of these, 24 were considered as “top priorities”.
According to Chief Inspector Publio Ploteña, city fire marshal, common to all these fire-prone areas were the following:
* narrow alleys due to encroaching illegal structures and illegally parked vehicles
* houses made of light materials and constructed close to one another
* chaotic electrical connections
According to Ploteña, fire substations have fire safety awareness campaigns most especially in these villages.
He also said every household should have a fire drill.
“In case of fire, kabalo sila kon ano ila himuon,” he said.
The 24 “top priority” villages were the following:
* Cubay, Tabuc Suba, Benedicto, Desamparados, Taytay Zone 2, Ungka 1, Bito-on, and Buntatala in Jaro district
* Sto. Niño Norte, Sto. Niño Sur, Sto. Domingo, So-oc, and Calaparan in Arevalo district
* Calumpang, West Habog- Habog, and North Baluarte in Molo district
* Lapuz Norte and Alalasan in Lapuz district
* Hinactacan and Rizal in La Paz district
* Bakhaw and Bolilao in Mandurriao district
* Tanza Esperanza and Rima Rizal in City Proper
Ploteña said electrical connections at home should be regularly checked, and for this, licensed technicians should be tapped.
“Sa paggamit sang fire during cooking, see to it nga naka-off ang LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) tank after use kag kon magluto dapat bantayan gid nila. Kon maggamit sang uling, basyahan gid nila tubig after cooking,” said Ploteña.
Lighted candles, Ploteñas added, must be placed in a safe place far from combustible materials./PN
