The nationwide record of 18,256 fire incidents from January 1 to December 31, 2024 was much higher than the 16,433 fire occurrences during the same period of 2023, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) stated.
In the 2024 recapitulation of fire incidents, the BFP noted the damage to property at almost P14 billion, which was higher than the 2023 record of P13.191 billion for a difference of five percent.
The number of civilian fatalities in the fire incidents rose from 341 in 2024, compared to 321 in the previous year, which is 6.2 percent more while the 1,338 injured civilians in the same year were remarkably higher than the 2023 record of 1,050.
In the case of the BFP personnel, there were two casualties in 2024, while no reported casualties were recorded.
The 136 injured firefighters responding to fire incidents in 2024 is more than the 89 wounded BFP men in 2023.
On a positive note, the BFP report showed that fire incidents in the residential areas in 2024 decreased to 7,583 compared to the previous year’s record of 7,639.
The BFP added that the total of 768 fire incidents in the mercantile occupancies in 2024 were lower than the record of 832 in the same period of 2023, while the 385 fire occurrences in the industrial areas last year were also down from the 450 incidents from the previous year.
In the same report, the BFP recorded 1,464 fire incidents from “open flame from rubbish fire/bonfire to structural fire in 2024, compared to the record of 1,110 over the same period of 2023.
The BFP pointed out that 625 causes of fire were due to open flame from farmland/agricultural and land clearing operations in 2024 which is more than the 337 similar cases in the same period of 2023.
There were also 754 fire incidents due to “electrical ignition caused by loose connections’’ last year compared to the 1,683 in 2023, while fire incidents due to electrical ignition caused by arcing in 2024 were 1,256, which lower than the 2,730 recorded in the previous year.
Electrical arcing occurs when an electrical current jumps from one connection point to another, or between two conductors, through the air.
It can happen when there is a gap in the circuit, or when wiring is faulty, loose or deteriorated, causing a bright flash, a loud popping or cracking noise or sparks.
The BFP data also disclosed that there were 999 fire incidents from “smoking/lighted cigarette, cigar or pipe this year compared to the record of 1,144 in 2023 while 852 fire incidents from open flame cooking were recorded in 2024, which lower than the 1,4551 in the previous year.
Under the 2024 classification of fire incidents, the BFP said that 10,379 were accidental compared to 15,743 in 2023, 156 were natural causes, up from last year’s figure of 64, 66 were incendiary/intentional, remarkably down from last year’s record of 455 and 68 fire cases with negligent acts, which is an increase from the 19 such incidents last year.
Compared to the 121 fire cases under investigation in 2023, the following year’s record ballooned to 7,601 while the 2024 undermined cause of fire incidents is 24 compared to the 33 occurrences in the same period of the previous year.