BFP: 86 schools, 65 dorms are firetraps

MANILA, Philippines - Less than a week before classes open, at least 86 schools and 65 dormitories violated fire safety standards, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said yesterday.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo gave the erring establishments 15 days to correct the violations. “This is a continuing inspection. Our BFP personnel doubled their efforts in inspecting school buildings,” he said.

In a report to Robredo, BFP director Chief Superintendent Samuel Perez said of the 86 schools and universities inspected, 46 were in Manila, 21 in Muntinlupa, 11 in Makati and eight in San Juan, while the 65 dormitories were from the city of Manila.

Perez said inspection teams found numerous violations in some establishments, such as classroom windows secured with iron grills and window openings used for emergency rescue and ventilation being padlocked.

“(There was) no emergency evacuation plan posted on the hallway and corridors of the building indicating ways of travel to the nearest fire exits, main stairway not extended to upper floors, not standard type of fire exit ladder, no emergency lights at fire exit stair,” Perez pointed out.

He added that some of the schools did not have an automatic sprinkler system, fire escape, fire resistive enclosure for the main stairway, or smoke and heat detectors.

“Some of the establishments do not even have a fire alarm or a fire extinguisher, and have defective fire exit signage, which are not luminous and not of the standard size,” said Perez.

He also said some schools have defective emergency lights or fire alarm system, while others have fire exits that pass through a room that is subject to locking.

The Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education set on June 4 the opening of classes for the school year 2012-2013.

Perez said his office has already issued Notices to Comply to the erring establishments to allow them to correct the deficiencies for a period of 15 days.

“If the establishments fail to comply after the said period, they will be issued Notices to Correct Violations and slapped with administrative fines and shall be given another 15 days to correct the violations,” he noted.

Perez said under the law, the owners of buildings with four or more floors must have an automatic fire suppression system or sprinkler system.

According to Perez, the BFP is on alert status and is ready to respond to any fire emergency that may suddenly occur in schools.