BFP, Taguig gov’t to kick off Fire Prevention Month with a series of activities

“Be informed, be cooperative, be safe.”

This is the message of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the City Government of Taguig to all the Taguigueños for the observation of the Fire Prevention Month.

Taguig Fire Marshal Chief Inspector Junito Maslang said that the BFP-Taguig together with the city’s Barangay Affairs Office (BAO) will conduct a house-to-house inspection in all of the city’s 28 barangays. The kick-off for the house-to-house inspection will be on March 1, but the activity will continue until the BFP has checked every household.

“Information is key in fire prevention. Each household needs to be informed on how they can make their loved ones and properties safe from the devastation of fire. We will teach the members of the community the importance of having an available access and exit way to public areas. Equally important is for the public to cooperate,” Chief Inspector Maslang explained.

“Identifying and eliminating fire hazards in your home and your  community can save your life, your loved ones and your property especially during the hot and dry months that is expected to aggravate due to the effects of El Niño phenomenon,” said Chief inspector Maslang.

Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano is fully supportive of the BFP’s massive information drive.

Mayor Lani said the first thing to do is to arm citizens with the knowledge of what really are fire hazards as well as with information on knowing what to do and what not to do when a blaze hits a community.

“Awareness and discipline are the first steps toward preparedness, which will then make way for prevention. With that, we encourage everyone not to disregard the efforts of the city and the local BFP toward this purpose,” she added.

Several other activities are lined up to promote fire prevention and safety starting March 1, the first of which is the motorcade and unity walk aimed to raise awareness regarding the serious threat and impact brought about by the destructive fire to all stakeholders.

Moreover, the BFP will also conduct the annual “Barangay Ugnayan,” a seminar to strengthen and evaluate the capabilities of every barangay, especially barangay volunteers, in responding to fire and other related emergencies. The seminar slated on March 9 also intends to further involve the community through the creation of Barangay Fire Brigades.

Also, to enhance fire response skills, the BFP is set to conduct the 5th Mayor Lani Cayetano Inter-barangay Fire Olympics scheduled from March 16 to 18, which will include Rescue and Transfer Relay (tests skills in transferring a victim’s body), Fire Extinguishment (tests skills in using a fire extinguisher), Bucket Relay (dubbed as the oldest form of firefighting; it races to fill up a tank with 50 gallons of water) and Tug-of-war (tests strength and teamwork).

The Taguig Central Fire Station (TCFS) has recorded a total of 244 fire incidents in 2014 and 245 in 2015.

During the summer season of March to April 2014, it has recorded 65 fire incidents and 63 fire incidents for March-April 2015.

This intensified fire prevention campaign is a year-round commitment of the city government and the BFP to ensure fire safety of Taguigeños. ###