For the first time since the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) was created, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reported Saturday that no firecracker-related fire incident was recorded during the holiday season.
The DILG noted that “firecracker-related injuries to people were also down by 85 percent compared to the same period last year.’’
“Only 50 persons were injured by firecracker use from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1, 2021 compared to the 340 in December 2019. This new record is 89 percent lower than the five-year average from 2015-2019,’’ the DILG said.
With the zero firecracker-related fire incidents, DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año cited the combined efforts of the BFP, Philippine National Police (PNP), local government units (LGUs), and the Department of Health (DoH) “for this significant accomplishment.’’
Año disclosed that normally, in Metro Manila alone, there would be 10 or more firecracker-related fire incidents in recent years.
The DILG chief maintained that this “can be attributed to the intensified information campaign of the DILG and the DoH on the use of firecrackers, the vigilance and hard-work of the BFP and the PNP, as well as the LGUs, especially the Metro Manila Council, and the cooperation of the public.’’
Año said BFP and PNP personnel were on top of the situation “doing the rounds in barangays up until New Year’s Eve to remind the public to refrain from the use of firecrackers in their festivities to avoid unwanted injuries and accidents.’’
He added that there was a 52 percent decrease in fire incidents from other causes nationwide in December 2020, “tallying only 593 incidents compared to the 1,246 incidents in the same period last year.’’
A total of 37 were injured, including two BFP personnel, while 10 perished during the fire incidents involving mostly residential properties.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), some 4,417 fire-related incidents were reported from January 1 to Dec. 31, 2020, which is 18.26 percent lower than the 5,404 tallied in the same period last year.
Año noted that the DILG will make sure that Police Staff Sgt. Karen Borromeo will be dismissed from service for indiscriminately firing her hand gun in Malabon City during the New Year’s festivities.
“It doesn’t matter if she was having an argument with her live-in partner or fired her hand gun to celebrate the New Year. What she did was against the law and she will be facing criminal and administrative sanctions and will be dismissed from the police service,” Año said.
Año also said there were no untoward incidents during New Year's Eve until New Year’s Day 1 in all the jail facilities nationwide manned by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
He stressed that this was largely due in part to the efforts of jail officers and other officials who spent New Year’s Eve guarding the jail cells to ensure the security and safety of the Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL).