6 cities ban firecrackers

MANILA, Philippines - With only two weeks before the celebration of the New Year, six cities in Metro Manila, Northern Luzon and Mindanao have banned the use of firecrackers, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) reported yesterday.

BFP officer-in-charge Chief Superintendent Ariel Barayuga said the cities of Muntinlupa, Baguio, Olongapo, Davao, Kidapawan and Zamboanga have banned the use of firecrackers.

He said an area in Pateros, the only town in Metro Manila, also imposed a firecracker ban, citing the Dec. 6 report of Senior Superintendent Igmedio Bondoc Jr., director of the BFP-Fire Safety and Prevention.

The BFP reminded the public of the risks posed by firecrackers following an accident in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya last Wednesday, wherein four people were injured when firecrackers stored in a house exploded while the victims were attending a wake at a nearby house.

Investigators said 16 types of firecrackers stored for over four years in the adjacent house exploded. The blast ripped the roofs and walls of the two houses and even damaged the coffin of the deceased in the funeral wake.

In last year’s revelry, authorities said 413 persons were confirmed hurt, with one of the victims a seven-year-old girl who was hit in the head by a stray bullet. The figure represented a 17-percent drop in injuries related to the New Year revelry, according to health officials, but it was still too high.

Meanwhile, the BFP recorded more fires during the first 10 months of 2014 compared to the same period last year.

Barayuga said the BFP tallied 13,991 fires – structural and bush fires – from January to October 2014 compared to only 12,301 incidents in 2013 and only 8,798 cases in 2012.

The BFP reported 1,225 deaths, including that of six firefighters, from 2009 to 2013, most of which were recorded last year.