CEBU CITY, Philippines — A total of 17 fires were recorded in Cebu City for the month of January 2023.
Senior Fire Officer (SFO2) Wendell Villanueva, information officer of the Cebu City Fire Station, confirmed this number, adding that these incidents left P12.6 million worth of property damage.
At least 80 percent of the fires affected residential houses and most of the incidents were electrical-related.
This year’s figure is fewer than that of the same period last year, wherein 26 fire incidents were recorded, for an estimated P202.7 million worth of property lost.
According to Villanueva, majority of the fire incidents that transpired last year were rubbish fires due to the damage left by super typhoon Odette in December 2021.
“ Taas ta last year because mao man to ang post-Odette nga buwan unya kasagaran gitubag kay rubbish fire. Ang nakadako [damage] kay ang sunog sa APM, (mall),” Villanueva said.
Among all the fire incidents in the first month of the year, the one that cost the most was that of the fire that burned a laundry shop in Barangay Capitol Site on January 5, which cost P4.5 million worth of property damage.
Villanueva added that they are now busy preparing for the Fire Prevention Month this March.
He said that they continue to intensify their information dissemination, particularly on fire prevention.
/bmjo
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