EDITORIAL — A grim reminder

As usual the sweltering month of March has seen consecutive fires. There is one almost every few days --sometimes almost every day or even several times a day-- and the sound of droning sirens has become commonplace in the city.

But the one that hit Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City, the other morning was particularly tragic.

Three children died in the fire that hit Sitio Mabapo. According to reports, the charred remains of the children, aged six, four, and three, were huddled together as if trying to protect each other from the flames.

The cause of the fire, which destroyed 20 houses and left damage estimated at ?750,000, has yet to be determined.

While we grieve with the parents, relatives, and friends of the three children who perished in the fire, we have to find something that will serve as the silver lining in this cloud.

Like we keep saying, the best we can do with the biggest tragedies is to turn them into teachable moments and occasions we can learn from. That way we can stop these tragedies from happening again, at least as much as possible.

In this incident we cannot help but see a lot of what ifs. What if people had been educated on how to mitigate fire risks? What if the houses in that area hadn’t been built too close together? What if there was an auxiliary force that could have handled the fire until the firefighters arrive?

What if the children had been taught to escape from their house during a fire, or for any emergency for that matter?

What if. What if. What if.

Fire prevention month has officially ended with the start of April, but we can be assured that fires will continue because of the hot weather and other adverse conditions.

Let their deaths be a reminder of the price that might have to be paid when we let our guard down or get too complacent.