Nine fire incidents were recorded by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in the National Capital Region (NCR) on the very first day of 2025, an official disclosed.

BFP spokesperson Fire Senior Supt. Annalee Carbajal-Atienza said one was already confirmed while details on eight other cases were being verified.

“So far, the report that reached the National Headquarters was there was one [fire] incident. However, in our unofficial report, in NCR we noted nine fire incidents from 12:17 a.m. until 5:21 a.m.,” Carbajal-Atienza said in a radio interview over dzBB.

The lone confirmed incident was a third alarm fire that struck a general merchandise building in Malabon City which occurred around 5 a.m.

The cause of fire remains under investigation and no casualty was also reported as of this writing.

The nine reported fire incidents were lower compared to the 54 recorded cases during the 2024 New Year’s Day revelry.

The BFP officials said this indicates that a lot more Filipinos are being aware of practical ways how to avoid fire incidents during the New Year’s revelry.

“We can really see the difference in the number of cases. We can attribute this to [the people’s awareness]. It seems they were traumatized because of what happened to some of our kababayan who were victimized before. Sad to note, they became a sacrificial lamb so that other communities would learn a lesson,” Carbajal-Atienza said.

The BFP spokesperson said among the leading causes of fire during the New Year celebration involves the use of firecracker.

“There were [fire] incidents caused by firecrackers and it’s because of the mechanism. For example is kwitis [skyrocket], once it goes up, we cannot control where it would go,” she said.

“Whether a firecracker or firework is considered legal or not, it may be a cause of fire. Another example is fountain, if we don’t improvise a stable holder for it, there are tendencies that it would fall on its side and the embers of fire might accidentally go to houses made of light materials or worse, injure spectators,” she added.

The BFP reiterated its reminder to the public to be alert at all times to avoid fire especially this start of the New Year.