A photo of the fire in Barangay Calamba, Cebu City that destroyed one house and damaged two others on New Year’s Day. | contributed photo via Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — An official of the Cebu City Fire Station urges the public to check and make necessary upgrades to all electrical installations in their respective houses to avoid fires.
Senior Fire Officer (SFO3) Wendell Villanueva, information officer of the Cebu City Fire Station, said this after they noted that most of the fires that happened in the city in 2022 were electrical-related.
Villanueva noted that there were 229 fires they responded to in 2022, which caused P506-million worth of property damage.
Fire officials hope to avoid these incidents this year, that is why they are appealing to the public to prioritize fire safety and check their electrical wirings from time to time.
“Pag sud sa bag ong tuig, mas maayo bisitahon balik ang electrical installation sa balay. Kung naay depekto, atong ilisan para masigurado nga safe ra ataong panimalay,” Villanueva said.
(Entering the new year, it is good to check our electrical installations of our houses. If there are defects, let’s change them to ensure that our houses are safe from fire.)
The reminder comes after a fire engulfed an ancestral house and partially damaged two others in Barangay Calamba past midnight on January 1, 2023.
These houses were located in a compound. The occupants, the Sisal family, were outside celebrating New Year.
Fire Officer (FO3) Emerson Arceo, fire investigator, said earlier that they looking at two possible causes of the fire— firecracker-related or electrical misuse.
They are considering faulty electrical wiring since the ancestral house where the the fire originated did not upgrade their installations since 1950.
As of this writing, investigators still could not pinpoint what caused the fire.
/bmjo
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New Year’s Day Fire: P1.2M worth of properties in Brgy Calamba lost