Slight rise in Metro Manila fires in 2018
MANILA, Philippines — Fire incidents in Metro Manila increased this year, an official of the Bureau of Fire Protection – National Capital Region (BFP-NCR) said yesterday.
From Jan. 1 up to yesterday, a total of 4,698 fires occurred. The figure is 1.12 percent higher compared to the same period in 2017 when 4,646 fire incidents took place, said Senior Superintendent Rizalde Castro, BFP-NCR deputy regional director for operations.
Castro clarified that a majority of the fires were not caused by firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices. He said from Dec. 1, not a single firecracker-related fire happened in Metro Manila.
“Based on the incident (reports), most fires are electrical in nature. The second most common cause are cigarettes,” he said in a television interview over GMA News.
The BFP earlier said fire incidents nationwide increased by .84 percent.
Castro attributed the fewer firecracker-related fires to President Duterte’s Executive Order 28, which limits the use of firecrackers to community fireworks displays to minimize deaths and injuries.
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