By RHENJIE MARIE CALANTAS
ILOILO – Fire incidents in Western Visayas reached 1,677 in 2022, an increase of 27.24 percent from the 1,318 incidents recorded in 2021.
Data from Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Region 6 show that as of Dec. 28, 2022, Iloilo province logged the highest at 666 fire incidents.
It was followed by Negros Occidental (532), Capiz (177), Antique (136), Aklan (135), and Guimaras (31).
There were 1,069 structural fires, 456 non-structural fires, and 152 vehicular fires.
Total property damage, meanwhile, was pegged at P231,828,749.55 – higher than last year’s P181,514,392.25.
Structural fires mainly occur in residential, commercial or industrial buildings.
According to the BFP-6, fires in the region were mainly electrical in nature. These were due to faulty electrical outlets, overloaded outlets, or worn-out sockets.
Other fire triggers were unattended cooking, stoves, embers or lighted candles.
Senior Superintendent Bartolome O. Beliran, BFP-6 chief of staff, said that as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions loosen and people are now back to face-to-face activities, some leave their home appliances unattended.
He reminded the public to practice basic fire safety tips and measures.
“Everytime maghalin kita sa aton mga panimalay, switch off gid ang mga decorations like Christmas lights, kag sa pagtulog patyon man naton ini. Sa pagluto make sure man naton nga na off ang regulator sang aton LPG. Kun gagamit man kita sang kahoy or uling siguradohon aton nga nabasyahan or napatay naton bago naton pabay-an,” he said.
From Dec. 24 to 25 of this year, BFP-6 recorded a total of eight residential fires in Western Visayas: Iloilo City – three; Iloilo province – two; Negros Occidental— one; Aklan – one; and Antique – one./PN
