On Fire Prevention Month: Let's All Save Lives & Property

According to the website of the Department of Interior and Local Government of the Philippines, March is the designated fire prevention month because the most number of fires happens during this month.🚒

And yet, on March 12, 2019, the second Tuesday of the Fire Prevention Month, all hell broke loose in the city center of Victorias just after lunch! Well, it was literally hell as a fire razed 14 houses and caused damage to three others in the city's Barangay 4 right next to a public elementary school, causing panic and grief to the students and the whole neighborhood.

The firemen and volunteers gathered 

at Quezon Street to help)

I experienced a fire in my neighborhood during my early years in Manila, Philippines. One was in Tambo in Parañaque City, where the third house from ours caught fire. It was a late Friday afternoon, just as I got back from work at Ayala Avenue in Makati City. There wasn't any fire truck in sight yet and Vina, our help, was crying when I got home; she didn't know what to do. I immediately got her upstairs, laid out a huge blanket, and put clothes on it: shirts, trousers, socks, underwear, towels and everything one would need in case you need to evacuate; and then tied them inside the blanket ready to be dragged out of the house if the fire came too close. I also told her to do the same with their own things. Fortunately, the fire didn't cross over to our fence but we ended up having a souvenir photo as the fire was razing the neighbor's two-story house along MIA Road. The next-door neighbor's (Tita Elsa Ardosa's) sofa was brought out into the street during the fire and we were already comfortably seated when I realized I had my film camera with me! Well, what do you do then? Take a photo, of course! Imagine this: it was early in the evening with no electricity on our four-lane road temporarily closed to vehicular traffic, the fire sirens were wailing, and the firemen were busy putting the fire under control. And there we were, sitting and posing on the sofa as the pedestrians walking past us were staring at the 'fire victims' who were having a photo shoot! In the middle of a fire! Ha-ha-ha!😆

(Students from a public school were 

nervously watching the fire from the school)

This time, however, at the Victorias City's fire, there were anguish and anger as the victims lamented the delay in the response of the local firemen. (Yes, I spoke to these crying victims as the fire was raging!). Witnesses even told me the city's fire truck didn't even have enough water in it, and it was the firemen and trucks from the neighboring cities and municipalities, including the Chamber Volunteer Fire Brigade and Amity Fire Brigade from Bacolod City, that successfully put the fire out. Thanks to all of them!🙇 Fortunately, no one was killed in the fire, only some livelihood of the victims who badly needed help after.

(Fire trucks from neighboring cities and 

municipalities came to help)

I would have enumerated the shortcomings of the local firemen's response but I was thinking they should know better how to tweak their system after the hullabaloo at the municipality of the neighboring Manapla when an early morning fire on February 15, 2019, broke out at their public market and the firemen had to be awakened from their sleep by a security guard of a neighboring convenience store and an empty fire truck had still to be filled with water. Sadly, all was razed that day. 😥

Compared to Manapla's, the fire in Victorias City was smaller. Here's the video of the fire:

It has been two weeks since the fire, and the victims have received a lot of help from their fellow Victoriahanons and are starting to get their lives back. Of course, local politicians were quick to grab the opportunity for a free ride on the publicity they could get using the fire victims for their political campaign as they posed for photos and uploaded these on social media. Well, this reminds of an American TV series titled 'Shameless'. Ha-ha-ha!😾 

I was thinking: these victims already lost their livelihood, but as local politicians were using them for publicity, the victims also lost their dignity.😡

(The yellow fire truck of Chamber Volunteer 

Fire Brigade from Bacolod City)

(The site of the fire has been cleared of some 

debris and burnt houses)

With help from private individuals as well as from the city and provincial governments using the taxpayers' money, the families are slowly rebuilding their lives and livelihood.

But you can still help them by visiting the area at Quezon Street (next to the public elementary school) where some of them have put up improvised shelters. You can just ask around where it is.😢

In the meantime, click this link on how to prevent fire:

https://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/metro-manila/03/17/14/15-tips-keep-your-house-safe-fire

Fire Prevention Month And The Gifts From Nanjo City, Japan!

I was awakened one morning with loud music coming from the city plaza. There must be an event, I thought. 

But seeing a fire truck with Japanese characters written on its side near the plaza, and the Japanese flag flying alongside that of the Philippines on the right of the stage, I thought of only one thing: we had visitors from the Japan and the fire truck must have been a present!

I was right!

From where I was standing, I was initially impressed that the tricycles and a Ceres bus passing by the plaza stopped to respect the Philippine national anthem being played. But I cringed when those vehicles simply continued on even when the national anthem of Japan was playing. The city officials obviously forgot to remind the traffic enforcers posted along the highway to halt all vehicles when the two national anthems played. 

Well, the traffic enforces and the drivers of those vehicles were only familiar with the Philippine national anthem, and weren't really aware that the second song was the national anthem of the city's honored guests!

Embarrassing! 

I hope the city officials of Nanjo City in Okinawa, Japan, who were standing on the stage with their right hand resting on their right chest as the Japanese national anthem played, didn't mind this boo-boo at all. 

Anyway, after all the speeches were delivered, another delivery happened: the ceremonial turnover of the fire truck and a raft. A fireman tested the fire truck by hosing water in the plaza. Even though this might have been a second-hand fire truck, it was probably made in Japan, which means it's reliable. Did it come with a warranty? Kidding.

So, arigato-gozaimasu to the officials and the citizens of Nanjo-shi in Okinawa, Japan, for their gifts. 

Although it's Fire Prevention Month and we don't exactly wish for any accident, these gifts would be helpful in times when Victoriahanons would really need it.