Mandaue City distributes fire extinguishers to barangays for Fire Prevention Month
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – In line with Fire Prevention Month, the Mandaue City Government is taking proactive steps to enhance fire safety by distributing fire extinguishers to various barangays.
Through the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), the city has already provided fire extinguishers to two barangay clusters, covering a total of 12 barangays. These include Casuntingan, Cabancalan, Maguikay, Canduman, Casili, Tabok, Tingub, Cubacub, Basak, Jagobiao, Pagsabungan, and Tawason.
Mandaue City’s 27 barangays are divided into five clusters: Butuanon, Centro, Kadagatan, Kabukiran, and Mahiga. Each barangay received 100 fire extinguishers, medical jump kits, and a megaphone to assist in emergency response.
CDRRMO Head Buddy Alain Ybañez emphasized that this initiative is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to improve disaster preparedness and minimize the impact of fire incidents.
The city aims to complete the distribution of fire extinguishers by the end of the month to help reduce fire-related incidents.
Since January, Mandaue City has recorded at least three fires, including two residential fires in March, during Fire Prevention Month. This includes the March 3 fire in Zone 7, Barangay Mantuyong, which destroyed 55 houses, and another fire in Sitio Papaya, Barangay Ibabao-Estancia, on March 7, which burned 40 homes.
Ybañez explained that Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) focal persons will assess fire-prone areas and determine the best locations for placing fire extinguishers.
“I-strategically preposition gyud na nato, dili butang lang kung butang, kung a hidden city area mas daghan atoang ibutang, kato gyud lugar nga lisod ipenetrate. Based sa data nakuha nato sa study sa UP Fire Check ug sa (BDRRM focal) training,” said Ybañez.
(We will strategically preposition them; we won’t just place them randomly. In densely populated areas, we will place more, especially in locations that are difficult to access. This is based on data from the UP Fire Check study and BDRRM focal training.)
“Atoa manggud gihuna-huna nga ma-extinguish dayun ang fire as soon as possible. Kay kung magsalig ta sa atoang responde, bisan 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes lang na, ang usa ka balay mahimo nang lima,” he added.
(Our priority is to extinguish fires as quickly as possible. If we rely solely on our response time, even just one, two, or three minutes can mean that one burning house turns into five.)
While some barangays have fire trucks, Ybañez noted that only about half of the 27 barangays have their own firefighting vehicles.
To further enhance fire safety, the CDRRMO has been training Emergency Response Teams, equipping them with critical firefighting and medical response skills.
The Mandaue City Fire Office also regularly conducts information drives to educate residents about fire safety and preparedness.
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