CEBU CITY - The dry spell brought about by the El Niño weather phenomenon has contributed substantially to the series of fires that took place in the city last March, dubbed Fire Prevention Month. Cebu City Fire Marshall Esmael Codilla said the extreme hot weather has made housing materials easily susceptible to fire, resulting in the burning of houses constructed of light materials. Codilla said the hot weather condition is the primary reason why fire easily erupts, with housing materials and even furniture and gadgets already sizzling in hot temperature and which could easily light up at the onset of even just a small open flame. Aside from the dry spell, the Cebu City fire department also noticed that the change in lifestyle of residents have contributed to the eruption of fires. Codilla said households now have plenty of electrical devices and gadgets but only a few have implemented proper electrical wiring and connections at home. Codilla said the public should remain always vigilant against the onset of fire more so that the country now experiences the dry spell. He also stressed the need to educate individuals on fire safety to avoid becoming injured or killed in any fire. "The city's congestion and the use of many gadgets that could result to overloading of electricity are among the factors considered in the rise of fire incidents in Cebu City," said Codilla. He also admitted that the city's fire fighting equipment need urgent upgrades to immediately douse off fires that could take place in any part of the city. He said most of the city's fire trucks are already over 30 years old. "We are hopeful that the Fire Code of 2008 will pave the way for the upgrading of our firefighting equipments," said Codilla. He said only seven of city's fire department 11 fire trucks could respond to fire alarms in any of Metro Cebu's 80 barangays. Three other fire trucks, including that which is stationed in Barangay Lahug, need major repairs that would cost P200,000 to P400,000 each, he said. Codilla said he has a pending request for new fire trucks with the Cebu City government through Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and the BFP central office. Both officials, however, said there was no pending request for the repair of defective trucks.
