SIX days after the New Year, another mall went ablaze, more than 400 kilometers away from the NCCC Mall.
With these two consecutive fires that gutted down two shopping malls in Davao City and Cebu City recently, questions about public safety against deadly fires linger anew. How safe are our malls from fire?
As shopping malls are often overcrowded with mallgoers, especially during holidays, disastrous fires often lead to tragic deaths.
The NCC fire in Davao City and the Gaisano Mall fire in Cebu City, which are both undergoing thorough investigations, prompted the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) to call on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to immediately inspect all malls in the country.
In 2008 an online news report [not by the BusinessMirror] exposed the poor compliance of shopping malls in Metro Manila with the provisions of Presidential Decree 1185, the old Fire Code of the Philippines, which was repealed by the enactment of Republic Act 9514, or the Fire Code of the Philippines.
The 10-year-old law signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on December 19, 2008, established the Comprehensive Fire Code in the Philippines.
Mercantile category
SHOPPING malls fall under the “mercantile” classification based on the type of building occupancy, according to Fire Safety Officer 2 Anselmo Idago of the BFP Fire Safety Enforcement Division (FSED).
Mercantile occupancies include malls, supermarkets, department stores, shopping centers, flea markets, restaurants of less than 50-person capacity, public/private dry and wet markets, water refilling stations, drugstores, hardware/construction supplies, showrooms and auction rooms.
Like all buildings, Idago said shopping malls are covered by the Fire Code of the Philippines and the compliance of the shopping mall management with the Fire Code is a must to ensure public safety, not only of mallgoers but of the employees of various locators doing business in the establishment.
“We have a Fire Code, which adequately puts in place fire prevention and safety measures,” Idago told the BusinessMirror in Filipino.
The Fire Code of the Philippines provides the minimum requirements, depending on the occupancy classification and the floor area of the building, on the number and specifics of stairways, fire alarms and fire exits and signs. Included also are fire detection and suppression mechanisms or devices, such as smoke or fire-detection system, fire alarms, automatic sprinklers and portable fire extinguishers.
The FSED at the BFP National Headquarter provides policy direction to the BFP’s various BFP Fire Stations through which fire-safety inspections are conducted.
Safety certification
THE respective fire station in a locality issues fire-safety inspection certificates to business establishments upon assessments of an establishment with their full or substantial compliance of the provisions of the Fire Code of the Philippines.
The fire-safety inspection certificate is a prerequisite for the issuance of a business permit or permits to operate by concerned local government units (LGUs).
Often, however, a disastrous fire that lead to tragic deaths—such as 1996 Ozone Disco fire, where 176 people died, and the 2001 Manor Hotel fire that left 75 people dead—is because of the fact that, despite deficiencies or violations of the Fire Code, fire- safety inspection certificates are issued. Sometimes, even without a fire-safety inspection certificate, the establishments are allowed to operate by the LGU; in the two cases, the Quezon City government.
Another important requirement for shopping malls and other establishments under the Mercantile Occupancy classification include the commissioning of fire brigades composed of adequate number of personnel with firefighting training.
Apparently, not all malls, even those in Metro Manila, are compliant of the provisions of the Fire Code of the Philippines, making malls prone to fire.
With its limited firefighting capability owing to shortage in fire trucks and other firefighting equipment, not to mention firefighters equipped with proper gears, shopping mall fires, such as the ones that took the lives of 37 voice call-center agents at the NCCC Mall in Davao City, are a cause for alarm.
New units
CHIEF Insp. Marionito Bolando, the incoming chief of the BFP-FSED said the BFP is will come up with a new organizational structure this month, establishing Fire Safety Information Division under the Directorate of Fire Safety Enforcement.
The new BFP division will replace the FSED and assume the role of evaluating and enforcing fire safety under the Fire Code of the Philippines.
According to Bolando, the key to preventing a fire is information, education and communication, which he intends to strengthen, given the BFP’s limited resources.
“We intend to continue the massive information drive and conduct more fire drills, especially in business establishments,” he said. “We need to do this regularly to prevent untoward incidents.”
Bolando added awareness about the hazards of fire and what it can do will hopefully lessen incidents of fire, as well as the number of casualties.
“Right now, the BFP is still ironing kinks to operationalize the new organizational structure,” he said in Filipino. But he added that under his watch, he plans to make fire drills a regular thing.
He also said that the BFP will continue to conduct fire prevention and firefighting training “upon request” of public and private institutions. “We have experts in the BFP willing and ready to provide necessary training to business establishments upon their requests,” he said. “These establishments should also have their own safety engineers undergo training.”
SM assurance
ACCORDING to the operator of SM malls, SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH) “prioritizes the safety and security of all its shoppers, tenants and employees at all times.”
“The company hires fire-safety consultants to evaluate building designs, assuring that our malls are complying with the National Fire Code and other relevant regulations,” the company said in response to the BusinessMirror’s query on fire safety.
“All SM malls are equipped with fire-protection system that is regularly inspected also by a third party engaged by the company as part of risk management,” the company added.
“This regular audit ensures continuous improvement of the malls’ fire-safety practices.”
According to the company, it “conducts fire drills twice a year, on top of local and national initiated efforts.”
“Aside from that, [SMPH] also performs tabletop discussions on a property basis to discuss various fire scenarios to help improve the emergency response plan guided by the company’s Emergency Response Manual, including cases of fire.”
Fire committee
SMPH added it has set up a Fire Safety Management Committee, “which ensures that findings and recommendations from audit, consultants and providers of machineries and equipment preventive maintenance services are cascaded and addressed by the malls.” The company said this committee conducts periodic reviews of near miss and actual fire incidents for local and nationwide recommendations.
When asked how much SMPH spends for fire safety, the company replied: “Apart from spending on fire-protection systems, fire safety consultant and third-party auditor, SM’s spending
related to fire safety also include investments on machineries and equipment to help manage/prevent fire hazards.”
“These include Fire Detection Alarm System and thermal imaging cameras that help find potential source of fire and smoke from electrical equipment to prevent fire hazards,” SMPH said. “Significant spending is also allocated for training of emergency-response
personnel.”
To be concluded
Image credits: Manuel T, Cayon