SunStar Zamboanga, December 24, 2006
THE local Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Zamboanga City has declared a red alert status effective Friday, placing all its personnel on stand-by and ready to response to incidents of fire or emergencies this Yuletide season.
BFP Deputy City Fire Marshal Ruben Argamino said the red alert status has been hoisted following an observation coupled with statistics that most of the fire incidents in the past happened during the month of December.
In declaring red alert, Argamino said all off-duty personnel were placed on call to assist the on duty firefighters in case of fire incident or emergency.
Coincidentally, firefighters, both from the local BFP and the Filipino-Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade, rushed to the busy Pilar Street after a call from one of the building occupants in the area on the day the red alert status was declared.
They, however, returned to their respective bases a few minutes after responding since the building occupants themselves were able to immediately put off the fire.
On Thursday afternoon, an estimated P100,000 worth of properties were destroyed in a fire incident that hit a boarding house along Mayor Jaldon Street in the village of Canelar.
The fire started in one of the occupants’ room of the boarding house after an appliance overheated, according to Argamino.
Argamino advised the residents to make sure that all appliances, including Christmas lights, are put off before going to sleep at night to avoid fire.
