EDITORIAL - Beyond Fire Prevention Month

Fire Prevention Month is over but the searing summer heat persists, drying up water supplies and turning houses jerrybuilt from flimsy scrap into tinderboxes. The past days have seen fires destroy hundreds of houses in shantytowns around Metro Manila.

Slums aren’t the only communities vulnerable to fires. A blaze can easily spread through any densely populated area where structures made of light materials are built close together and where the streets are too narrow for an average-sized fire truck to pass.

Some local governments have procured mini fire trucks for narrow streets and installed hydrants at strategic spots to ensure that fires even along alleys can be doused quickly. Prevention, however, is still the best approach.

Fire protection officials have issued sufficient guidelines on fire prevention, especially before the start of March, usually the hottest month of the year and therefore observed as Fire Prevention Month. Those guidelines are useful to heed throughout the year.

Some of the pieces of advice are obvious and easy to follow: candles must not be left unattended, and care must be taken in discarding cigarette butts. Other measures need some effort: stoves and cooking gas cylinders must be switched off when not in use, and chargers of electronic devices must not be plugged in too long because these can overheat. Still other preventive measures need extra effort and financial investment, such as regular inspections of electrical connections.

Commercial establishments and offices are inspected annually for compliance with fire safety regulations, but more frequent maintenance checks can prevent accidents. Preventive measures save lives and property. It’s a message worth bearing in mind, with fires breaking out almost daily and claiming lives in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.