EDITORIAL - Holiday fires

On Christmas Day a family of six and a helper died in a fire that destroyed their apartment in Quezon City. The holiday season seems to be a magnet for fires. A shantytown in San Juan City was also destroyed in a fire yesterday, a day after a fire razed several buildings in Divisoria, Manila. Perhaps the Yuletide celebrations make people neglectful of fire safety precautions, which are important particularly when there are a lot of candles being lit for the holidays.

Despite numerous warnings, people also take for granted the possibility that Christmas lights, especially those of poor quality or with many interconnections, can malfunction and set off fires. With the approach of the New Year, fireworks carelessly handled can also set off conflagrations. There is usually a spike in fires during New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Many of the cases have been attributed to firecracker-related incidents.

Fire safety authorities are required to conduct inspections of buildings, but they can only do so much; people will have to take the necessary precautions. The country has seen enough deadly fires for people to realize that fire safety starts with preventive measures. These include the provision of fire exits in buildings and, in private homes with grilled windows, emergency exits. Initial reports yesterday said window grills apparently kept the family in Quezon City and their helper from escaping the flames that engulfed their apartment.

The risk of a deadly conflagration is obviously highest in crowded shantytowns and in the rundown firetraps that continue to operate as student dormitories around Metro Manila. Authorities should not wait for March, observed as Fire Prevention Month, to enforce fire and building safety standards. It’s never too early for preventive measures to save lives.