JDV now an advocate of fire prevention

Since losing his daughter in a fire that hit his Makati City home before Christmas 2004, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. has been an advocate of fire prevention efforts to "save lives, property, home and career."

"One of the saddest moments of my life was when I lost my daughter... who perished in smoke and fire. It’s so hard for a mother and a father to lose their child," said De Venecia at the launch of the new book, "How to Prevent Fire."

Authored by Senior Inspector Samuel Tadeo, chief of the Fire Safety Enforcement Unit of the Quezon City Police District, Milagros Aguinaldo and Senior Superintendent Enrique Linsangan of the Bureau of Fire Protection, the book contains safety measures, precautions and tips on saving lives and property in the event of fire.

"I was trying to pass an important law while my 16-year-old girl was dying from a fire that burned our house. Since that time I have committed myself to do everything I can to help prevent fire," said De Venecia. "We intend to modernize the Philippine fire department, see how we can save lives, see how we can save home, family, property and career."

KC de Venecia suffocated to death as fire gutted her family’s mansion in Dasmariñas Village in Makati City in the morning of Dec. 16, 2004. Rescue operations were hampered by the house’s security grills and bulletproof windows.

De Venecia’s wife Gina said the fire could have been triggered by faulty Christmas lights.

The Speaker vowed to buy 100 copies of the book, which he intends to distribute to local government authorities for them to adopt the measures in their respective localities.

"The book is a notable tool in the BFP’s drive to strengthen its program on education and information campaign," said Tadeo, as he thanked BFP Director Rogelio Asignado for the support.

Quezon City under Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has already approved a city council resolution authorizing the purchase of P2 million worth of copies of the book for distribution to barangays and puroks.

"The book was developed with the primary purpose to educate everyone on fire safety, prevention and control. The important pointers, reminders and valuable information disseminated by the BFP were adapted in this book," Tadeo said.

BFP spokesman Chief Inspector Renato Marcial said the book will raise the level of fire preparedness of the public. "The more aware the public is on fire hazards and prevention measures, the lower is the possibility of fire occurrences."

The BFP budget is P4.2 billion with 15,000 firemen nationwide. According to documents obtained by The STAR, BFP needs a huge amount of money to acquire firefighting gear. There are a total of 15,093 BFP members nationwide with 11,689 actually assigned to firefighting units.

Some of them, however, have to share fire coats, boots, helmets, gloves and trousers with suspenders, which are basic gear of every firefighter.

Records showed that of the 11,689 firemen nationwide, BFP has only 3,742 fire coats, or a shortage of 7,947. In National Capital Region (NCR) there are 2,229 firemen but only 360 have coats as 1,869 have to borrow from their off-duty colleagues.

The BFP has 3,214 pairs of fire boots and still need 8,475 more pairs to ensure that each fireman has protective boots. In Metro Manila, not a single fireman has fire boots for protection from heat and flame.