Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman and CEO Sen. Dick Gordon is calling the public in practicing household-level fire safety measures to prevent suffering heavy losses due to fire incidents in observance of the fire prevention month starting March 01, 2022.

Since the start of the year, PRC responded to 31 fire incidents in the country. With a total fleet of 19 fire trucks, PRC is ready to help the local government unit to be always first, always ready, and always there to respond to fire emergencies.

PRC Chairman Gordon also reiterated the importance of the organization’s 4Ps principle—Predict, Plan, Prepare, Practice—to uphold the safety of every family. 

 “Isang paalala po sa publiko ang pag oobserve ng tamang fire safety sa ating mga tahanan. Ang fire safety ay isang shared responsibility sa ating lahat upang maiwasan ang sunog at madamay ang iba. By practicing fire safety, you can not only save your family or loved ones but especially those around you,” Chairman Gordon said.

PRC is in full support of the campaign of Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to raise fire prevention awareness throughout the month of March, which is said to have the most number of fire incidents due to the peaking of temperatures.

In line with this, PRC reminds the public to practice the following fire prevention tips:

1. Do not smoke in bed.

2. Crush cigarette butts thoroughly before discarding them.

3. Do not throw them into wastebaskets.

4. Keep lighted candles, oil or gas lamps away from curtains and other objects that easily catch fire.

5. Do not store any flammable substances or any volatile liquid in the kitchen and inside dwelling houses. Keep matches and lighters away from children’s reach.

6. Do not use open flames for decorations in the house.

7. Extinguish all live charcoal and embers after cooking in the kitchen. Make sure the kitchen is inspected before retiring for the night.

8. Kerosene and gas stoves should be checked for leakage and regularly cleaned. It is best to invest in a quality LPG tank.

9. your electrical installations regularly and have all frayed wiring, damaged sockets, switches and other defective electrical fixtures changed or repaired promptly.

10. All electrical installations, repairs and changes should be undertaken by licensed electricians. Never run electrical cords under rugs.

11. Cords of portable appliances should be as short as possible.

12. Do not overload your electrical circuits by profusely putting extra lights and appliances. Combustible and other flimsy materials should not be placed near bulbs.