Only 30 of 3,000 boarding houses inspected for safety

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Fire Marshal Aderson Comar admitted that they could not inspect all boarding houses and apartments in the city because of various constraints beyond their control.

At present, Comar said, there are roughly 3,000 boarding houses and apartments in Cebu City and most of these are not even registered.

In a day, their three two-men teams could only inspect an average of six structures.

Comar pointed out that the 142 firefighters in the city also have to attend to other tasks. Aside from conducting inspections, they respond to complaints that they receive daily. They receive at least five complaints a day.

As of yesterday, they inspected at least 30 structures so far since they started inspection in the past two weeks. 

Comar clarified that they are not neglecting their duties because aside from inspections, they are also tasked to conduct fire safety seminars, trainings and accreditations among others.

“Dili gyud na mahurot namo tanan kay kulang mi og two ug naa sad mi laing mga trabaho,” he told The FREEMAN. (We can’t attend to all of that, we lack manpower and we have a lot of other jobs to do.)

Despite these, Comar promised that they will do their best in accomplishing their duties for public safety.

But he also stressed that safety starts with each person. Everyone must be always conscious of safety and make this a habit, aside from avoiding fire hazards such as octopus connection and illegal tapping, he added.

As school year 2012-2013 starts, students should consider safety by choosing boarding houses or apartments with proper fire equipment and facilities such as fire exits.

In yesterday’s surprise inspection of boarding houses and apartments in Barangay Sambag I, the bureau found violations of the Fire Code in three apartments. Owners were given a few days to make the necessary changes and adjustment as advised by the fire department.

All three structures were complete with fire alarm system, fire hose cabinets and stand pipes for early detection and response.  (FREEMAN)