‘El Niño’ causes fire incidents to triple in Western Visayas

Fire safety officials in Western Visayas blamed the dry spell brought by the El Niño weather phenomenon for tripling the number of fire incidents in the region in the first half of 2010. The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) recorded 1, 463 cases from January to June this year compared to only 483 in the same period last year, The News Today" reported earlier this week. BFP regional director Senior Superintendent Ma. Sofia Mendoza said the El Niño phenomenon, which caused dry spells earlier this year, was among the contributing factors to the high number of fire incidents. The report said most of the fires, 907 cases, were grass fires. This was followed by fires caused by electrical short circuits, 111 cases. The other fires were caused by candles, appliances, gas stoves, lighted matches, and cigarette butts. To lessen the number of fire incidents, BFP-Region 6 launched “Oplan Brave" (Barangay Response Assistance Volunteer and Emergency) in different villages in six provinces in the region. Mendoza said they need fire volunteers from each barangay because residents are the first ones who can respond to any emergency in their area. The BFP-6 is targeting more than 2,000 fire volunteers around the region who will be taught basic firefighting. Meanwhile, Mendoza said there is no plan to change the basic requirements of the Fire and Life Safety Assessment Report for business establishments as of this time. — VVP, GMANews.TV