THE Provincial Board (PB) of Cebu is urging all business establishments and owners of buildings that are three-story high or more to conduct fire-safety audits with the help of the Bureau of Fire Protection.
The call came following a fire incident that took place in Metro Ayala Center in Cebu City and when, 15 days ago, 38 workers perished in the NCCC Mall fire in Davao City.
“It is more safe if establishments would continue to check whether their buildings are safe and are fire-safety compliant, which would ensure that guests and customers are safe from fire,” said PB member Thadeo Jovito Ouano, who sponsored the resolution passed on Monday.
Ouano said that, while the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has been calling for joint fire-safety audits of all malls nationwide, it is also time for the malls in Cebu, including all business establishments that are more than three- story high, to conduct fire-safety audits.
TUCP President Raymond Mendoza earlier expressed outrage over the blatant violations of NCCC Mall and Research Now Survey Sampling International call center of fire-safety codes and noncompliance with Occupational Safety and Health Regulations.
“There is a need to check and determine whether these business establishments and more than three-story buildings are compliant to the fire-safety standards set forth in the national fire-safety standards,” Ouano added.
It has been proposed that there should be a joint DOLE-BFP safety audit inspections to coincide with the forthcoming dry season when most fire incidents happen, so it is questioned whether safety of malls has been given priority as malls is a place of business and recreation for many Filipino families.
Last January 5, the fire at the Metro Ayala Center was detected at around 9:30 p.m.
At around that time, “smoke was detected at the third- floor toys stockroom of the Metro Ayala building,” Metro Gaisano said in a statement.
“The Metro Ayala Emergency Brigade Team and Ayala Center Cebu Emergency Brigade Team are working with the Bureau of Fire and other emergency response teams to manage the situation. All customers and personnel were safely evacuated,” it added.
Fire Superintendent Vonrad Fernando Dobluis of Bureau of Fire Protection Region-7 said firefighters made an opening on the roof of the mall to “ventilate the smoke coming out of the mall.”
The Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office issued a haze alert because of the thick smoke emanating from the burning building, which has affected the surrounding area.