Level of Capability of Bureau of Fire Protection in Responding Emergencies

Basis for Intervention Program

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Rationale
The local government is directly in charge of the public's safety, understanding of the
circumstances, and associated resource needs, proximity to, and both an occasion and
resources. There are emergency services there. a division that is capable of responding
to crises might happen at any time. Among them is law. public safety, emergency
medical services, and law enforcement works. They could also be called emergency
response. personnel or emergency personnel. The Philippines' Bureau of Fire
Protection (BFP) is a government organization whose mission is to curtail and prevent
the occurrence of devastating fires, uphold applicable regulations, and offer rescue and
medical assistance in an emergency. However, The BFP must fight an uphill battle in
the execution of its duty in a country that is prone to conflagrations, like the Philippines.
The nation is burdened with aging or insufficient infrastructure that has been established
or built, such as electrical systems, and which consequently provide a considerable fire
risk. Furthermore, the union of two of the nation's summers that are swelteringly hot and
rainy monsoon seasons expose the nation's poor infrastructure. systems constantly
under their own unique type of pressure. Additionally, the BFP is not given any relief
over the vacation. the time of year. the fireworks addiction of the Filipinos, poses a
significant concern, particularly around Christmas. right to property, to one's way of life,
etc.
It is no stretch to say that consequently, the BFP has its work cut out for it. To make
matters worse, since its creation, the BFP has come under scrutiny for having gained
something of a reputation for corruption and inefficiency. However, much effort has also
been expended over the years to bring the BFP to the level of competence and
professionalism it needs to properly discharge its duties. (Sanchez, 2013).
Considerable knowledge, skill, and judgment are required to provide quality emergency
medical services. High quality emergency medical services and first responders are an
important part of any health care system. Many studies of pre-hospital services place
greater emphasis on human factors, efficiency and continuous refinement of standards
of practice. (Page, Sbat, Vasquez, Yalcin, 2013).
The lack of trained pre-hospital providers, modern equipment, and ambulance vehicles
accounts for the challenges and short comings to provide quality emergency medical
services. The BFP mission is to prevent and suppress destructive fires, investigate its
causes, give emergency medical and rescue services, and enforce other fire related
laws with the active involvement of the community. Its purpose is to ensure operational
readiness of the EMS team on duty. (BFP Operational Procedures Manual, 2015).
This led the researchers to investigate the size of the BFP's capacity to respond to
emergencies in Ilocos Norte. The study's findings could potentially be helpful. As to
what function they play in the operations Explain what areas require improvement. In
addition, this would assist Ilocos Sur Province and the Municipality as well in creating
strategies and directives that would even increase the office's services. The Situation
College of Health students studying medical technology Sciences from the Northern
Philippines University would also gain from the office's better performance.

OBJECTIVES: This Study is to determine the level of capability of bureau of fire

protection in responding emergencies and to provide intervention program base on the
result.
Specifically, it sought to answer the following:

1. To determine the level of capability of bureau of fire protection in responding

emergencies;
2. To provide intervention program base on the result;

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The researcher visualizes that the findings of this study will be useful and significant to
the following:
Establishment. This study would help them to give them a knowledge about fire safety
protocol in addition to avoid their establishment being in caught in fire. It will make them
prepared in times of fire. Additionally, this course will teach them how to use appliances
safely and without risking an explosion or fire.
Criminology Students. They will be able to apply the study's findings to similar future
research projects. If students want to become BFP officers in the future, they will gain
from knowing about fire prevention. They can learn and offer assistance if there is a fire
nearby.
Society. This study will raise public awareness of fire safety precautions. When there is
a fire scenario and our BFPs are not yet available to respond, this research will also aid
society in coming up with potential solutions. Additionally, it will encourage creativity in
coping with fire situations.
BFP Fighters. With the aid of this study, they will be able to assess the effectiveness
and efficiency of their service in terms of preventing fires. The results of this study will
reveal the level of firefighter readiness of our BFP staff. Additionally, it will improve their
reputation in the eyes of the public.
Fire Victims. This study will educate the fire victims on how to be more watchful and
prevent being another fire victim. They will also get knowledge and strategies from this
research for dealing with fire-related issues. Additionally, it will aid kids in developing
self-awareness, particularly when dealing with fire in their home.
Researcher. The researcher would learn more about the challenges faced by female
inmates thanks to this study. He would learn more about the tactics used by the person
in charge thanks to this study. It will enable him to learn more about the criminal justice
system and use the information learned for his own journey.
Future Researchers. This Research the Future research that is related to the findings
of this study may utilize it as a guide. In order to advance or broaden pre-existing ideas
and facts, this would also point them in the direction of taking appropriate actions in
places where earlier scholars have fell short.
Definition of Terms

The following words used in this study were defined on its conceptual and

operational use for a better understanding and explanation:

LEVEL OF CAPABILITY. A capability level is a well-defined evolutionary plateau describing

the organization's capability relative to a process area. A capability level consists of related

specific and generic practices for a process area that can improve the organization's processes

associated with that process area.

BUREAU OF FIRE PROTECTION. The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is responsible for the
prevention and suppression of all destructive fires in buildings, houses and other structures,
forests, land transportation vehicles and equipment, ships or vessels docked at piers or wharves
or anchored in major seaports, petroleum industry installations, plane crashes and other similar
incidents. The BFP enforces the Fire Code and other related laws and investigates all causes of
fires and, if necessary, files the proper complaints with the city or provincial prosecutor who
has jurisdiction over the case.
RESPONDING EMERGENCIES BASIS. Emergency response includes any systematic
response to an unexpected or dangerous occurrence. The goal of an emergency
response procedure is to mitigate the impact of the event on people and the
environment.
INTERVENTION PROGRAM. An intervention program is a treatment method used by
the mental health community, and utilized in a number of ways to better the situation of
individuals who have become dependent on various substances or activities.

Hypothesis

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This section provides a review of related material that is pertinent to the

comprehension and clarity of the topic under consideration. These are based on the

findings of several studies relating to this present study.

Foreign Studies

The threat of fire disasters is always present, and it is important that people are

aware of how to properly respond in order to lessen loss of property, injuries and

deaths. This is especially true for learners in schools (Marion & Maingi, 2011). Schools

should have emergency preparedness plans to guide students to safety. According to

Makhanu (2011) fire is one of the commonest disasters in learning institutions in Kenya.

Like any other disaster, whenever it happens, it causes a serious disruption of the

functioning of the institutions since it results into widespread human, material, economic

or even environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected institutions to

cope using their own resources. Although a fire disaster need not necessarily reach

catastrophic proportions, it does present some of the characteristic aspects of a disaster

because of the highly destructive action of fire and of the considerable number of

victims (UNISDR, 2015). The surviving casualties often have mainly serious and

extensive burns requiring immediate rescue procedures that cannot always be provided

by local resources. Preparedness planning is to ensure a rapid and efficient action when

disaster occurs, taking into consideration the local disaster management system and

adjusting it according to the local condition. The school ought to prepare human

resource, facility, infrastructure and financial support for disaster management to ensure

the school’s disaster preparedness (Kukali, 2012). 2 Resource mobilization is based on

the capacity of school and school stakeholders. The mobilization should be open for

other stakeholders to take part. Shaw (2013) observes that international efforts have

been made on promoting school safety, manuals have been written, curriculum

adjustments, guides and training materials have been distributed as well as national,
regional and international meetings have been organized by bodies such as the World

Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR). A WCDR resolved that education should

help build a culture of safety at all levels and this begins at school by mobilizing efforts

to integrate disaster preparedness infrastructures and procedures into school curricula

(UNISDR, 2012). This development has reinforced the need to work in more

collaborative, comprehensive ways in improving safety in schools. A number of

countries have developed crosssectional, national, regional or local strategies on

implementing school safety that recognize the multidimensional causes of school safety

problems and the need for preventive long term plans that encourage partnerships

between schools and other stake holders. The strategies also provide information

necessary for funding of project development and implementation, including training and

technical assistance. Disasters are worldwide phenomena that range from being highly

localized to global in scope. Regardless of their origin and classification, all disasters

have a 3 public health importance due to their potential to cause loss of lives and

livelihoods (Marion & Maingi, 2014). In 1998, a kerosene lantern overturned and killed

23 girls in a dormitory in Nigeria (Rowan, 2016). In July 2004, fire in an Indian school

killed 90 pupils because of lack of emergency doors and fire fighting equipments

(Reuters, 2014) and 21 girls in Budo boarding school in Uganda lost their lives through

arson (Mzungu, 2011). The report documenting the Indian school fire of July 2004

blames the disaster on failure to implement safety norms. The school building in this

case was overcrowded and had only one exit. There were no emergency doors or fire

fighting equipment. School fire disasters in India, are blamed on failure by authorities to

enforce safety norms. For instance, schools may stay for as long as three years without
being inspected (Reuters, 2011). The wave of fire disasters sweeping through Kenyan

schools has left many puzzled as to what exactly could be going on in schools and what

can be done to contain the situation. Several students have lost their lives to fire

incidents. Interventions to curb fires have brought to light the living conditions of

students and the disregard of government policies. In 1998, 26 girls perished in

Bombolulu secondary school when their dormitory caught fire (International Committee

of the Fourth International, 2014). Reports indicated that the dormitory was

overcrowded, doors to the dormitory were narrow and locked from the outside and the

windows were barred. There were also no fire extinguishers (Mangoa, 4 2012). In 2001,

67 students died in a night inferno at Kyanguli High School in Machakos. Eight pupils at

Asumbi Primary School died in 2012 in a fire disaster. According to a Homa Bay District

Commissioner report, the girls were locked in the dormitory. In Maranda High School a

fierce fire burnt down a dormitory (Oduor, 2012). The increasing frequency of fire

disasters in educational institutions is causing loss of lives, enormous destruction of

property, disrupting education programmes and causing a lot of concern to the public.

These incidences of fires in educational institutions are indication of poor disaster

preparedness (Kirui, et al, 2015). According to Artim (1999), the most worrying aspect is

that society has adopted a reactive rather than proactive perspective to the problem of

fire in schools; many a times, preventive measures are not put in place, but rather its

only after the disaster strikes that funds are mobilized for reconstruction of the

destroyed facilities and little psychosocial support (if any) offered to the survivors. This

has resulted in the problem recurring over and over again, thus adversely affecting the

resources’ sustainability by retarding development through reconstruction and repair

work. Nyeri Central District has also had it fair share of fire disasters. Ngunjiri (2012)

reports that fire reduced a dormitory at Giakanja Boys Secondary School to ashes and

an adjacent dormitory was also destroyed in the process as students tried to salvage

their personal belongings. Efforts to put off the fire were futile as the 5 school lacked

facilities to contain the emergency and had to await the fire engine from Nyeri

Municipality about 10 kilometres away. The Sunday night disaster was in many ways

similar to another one perpetrated by students at Nyeri High School against their

prefects on the early morning of May 24, 1999. In 2010, two boys were burnt to death in

their sleeping quarters at Endarasha Boys Secondary School dormitory in Nyeri County.

Investigations indicated they were trapped when a fire broke out as the charred remains

of the two students, lay near an exit door (Njagi, 2010). According to Otieno (2010) it is

emerging that most schools in Kenya have no capacity to handle emergencies like fire,

and are yet to even implement safety standards manual produced in 2008 by the

ministry of education. Schools in the developed countries are usually well prepared in

case of fire disasters. This is partly because they have invested in education in

emergencies. Education in emergencies was introduced in Kenya a few years ago.

However, it is not learnt in many educational institutions and it might be many years

before it is offered in all the universities in Kenya. This implies that it might take a long

time before most Kenyans learn how to be prepared in case of disasters. Despite the

many cases of fires disasters in Kenyan schools, schools in Nyeri Central District do not

seem to be well prepared in case of fire disasters. It was therefore imperative to carry

out a study on the schools’ preparedness as far as fire disasters are concerned.

According to Makhanu (2009) schools around the country have failed to emphasis on
installing fire protection equipment, alarms, and first-aid and fire fighting. Vulnerability of
schools to fire disasters is usually attributed to the following factors. Foremost, hostels
may not be of fire-resistive materials; they lack important fire protection equipment or
are not operational at the time of the fire. Such a state is hazardous and a recipe for fire
disaster. Common examples include: installed ventilators that are not in operation; exits
that are permanently locked or grilled especially windows; no installed alarm system; no
fire protection devices such as fire extinguishers and standpipes; rotten hose pipes;
hostel exit 12 doors that open inwards instead of outwards, such that in event of
emergency so many students pushing toward the door would jam it and eventually
caught up as none would escape. Also entry roads for extinguishers may be
inaccessible especially. Akali, Khabamba and Muyinga (2009) observe that little has
been done to prepare schools for fires. Only a handful of schools have fire extinguishers
in offices, laboratories, stores and kitchens and even these are not regularly serviced.
Furthermore, many public schools run on a shoe-string budget and cannot afford the
luxury of fire fighting equipment. School inspectors (QUASOs) hardly perform safety
assessment during routine checks in schools. Limited supply of water i.e. many schools
experience water shortages more often and lack hydrant points that would be effective
in putting out fires. Kumba (2008) reports that the Ministry of Education introduced new
rules to improve safety in all provincial secondary boarding schools be given between
Sh150, 000 and Sh350, 000 each to buy fire-fighting equipment. Every school was
requested by the government to set up a safety committee. However, there are many
schools which have not complied with such rules. Makhanu (2009) adds that fire fighting
equipment and other life saving devices should be generously displayed where they can
be easily spotted even when one is extremely frightened. Teachers, learners and the
subordinate staff should be routinely reminded about their existence and how to use
them. For established 13 institutions, automatic sprinkler, alarm and kitchen hood fire
protection must be installed during the reconstruction or major repairs phases. There
should be promptness in notifying the fire department for external assistance as
employees and students attempt to extinguish the fire themselves. Construction,
installation and maintenance processes, including periodic inspections should be done
in a manner to insure safety and usability of fire fighting equipment. Fire fighting
resource persons could be invited for such exercises. However, most of these activities
have not been carried out in the secondary schools in Kenya. Even the schools that
have fire extinguishers may not teach learners how to use them. Resultantly, in case of
a fire disaster, schools are still unprepared. 2.3 Adequacy of fire fighting equipment in
schools There are many schools which do not have adequate fire fighting equipment
(Shaw, 2012). Ians (2010) on a study in India discovered that as many as 1,200 schools
in the national capital, including some top privately run institutions, are flouting fire
safety norms. He said most schools seemed more interested in admitting a large
number of children instead of providing them a safe environment. He further noted that
many schools in the capital start operation with a “temporary” no objection certificate
(NOC) on the understanding that they would install the necessary equipment within one
year. However, many educational institutes never go back to the fire department for
getting a permanent NOC. While many government schools do not have basic fire-
fighting equipment, 14 many private schools have not bothered to get their facilities
certified from the fire department. Mwenga (2008) on a study to establish the safety
preparedness of secondary schools in Kyuso District, Kenya established that in this
district there are no adequate fire fighting equipments in the schools as majority, 43%
had between 1 - 5 fire fighting equipments. In addition, the number of fire fighting
equipment, fire fighting points and first aid kits were found to be un-proportional to the
size of the schools and the number of students hence inadequate to deal with any
emergency. The schools rarely trained their students on safety measures as indicated
by 44.5%, hence the students were not well-equipped with necessary training needed to
handle emergencies in the schools. In addition, the members of staff and school
matrons were not well-trained on fire fighting techniques since only 56.0% were fairly
trained. Lucheli and Masese (2009) also noted that the high cost of fire fighting
equipment has made it impossible for North Rift schools to install the kits. Though many
schools have removed grills from windows and installed double doors in dormitories,
they lack fire extinguishers. Following the 2001 fire disaster at Kyanguli in Machakos,
where 67 students lost their lives, the Government gave money to secondary schools
for safety measures. However, Lucheli and Masese (2009) observed that most schools
lacked fire extinguishers and where they were available; they were not in good working
condition. Most schools have tried to 15 meet the safety requirements, but fire
extinguishers are still a challenge. The principals in this region reported that schools
acquired fire fighting equipment from one company with Government funding, but what
the company delivered was substandard. After the Government stopped funding,
schools started single sourcing, but stringent budgets frustrated their efforts. In Nyanza,
more than 1,000 secondary and 5,000 primary schools do not have sufficient fire
fighting equipment. This shows how ill-equipped schools are to fire in case of a fire
disaster hence fire unpreparedness.

Domestic fires is the highest incidence of fire outbreak in Kumasi (GNFS, 2013). In an
attempt to address the alarming rate of fire outbreaks in Ghana, the Fire Precaution
(Premises) Regulation (2003) LI 1724 was passed to enable Ghana National Fire
Service
(GNFS) to carry out inspection of proposed and existing premises, review building plan
regarding fire safety and issuance of fire certificate. However, the law is enforced only
on
public buildings like hotels, schools, commercial buildings etc. to the neglect of
private (Amoako T, 2014, ‘Assessment of domestic fire management in Kumasi
Metropolis’, B.A (Integrated Development Studies), Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science and Technology.)

Fire safety construction and fire safety equipment installations are important systems
required for occupant safety. A principal consideration in this case is the provision of an
effective egress system that could be located at appropriate places to aid people to
safety.
The absence of these measures in multi-storey blocks leaves occupants at greater risk.
This
paper presents results of a study carried out in students' Halls of Residence at the
Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. Past and
current (Botchway E.A. & Boatemaa-Oti A, 2012, ‘An audit of the egress system in
multi-storey annexes of four halls of residence at KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana’, Journal of
Science and Technology 32, 49–60.)
The fire disaster in Gothenburg, Sweden, 1998 killing 63 and wounding 213 teenagers
was caused by arson committed by a youth from the same community. The fire was
started in the basement of an overcrowded discotheque and made, due to unfortunate
circumstances, devastating progress. The ensuing rescue work performed by other
youth, fire fighters, police and medical staff was prompt and must be seen in the light of
a very difficult situation. As a result of these orchestrated efforts and the fact that this
disaster occurred in a major city with substantial resources, all the injured were able to
be hospitalized within 2 h. The load on four local hospitals was initially severe due to the
large number of injured and the limited number of staff on night duty. The situation was
contained by relocating patients from the intensive care units to ordinary wards and by
transporting several of the most severe burn injuries by helicopter to burn units in other
parts of Sweden and to Norway. Hundreds of relatives and friends gathered at the local
hospitals. This was a new experience for the hospitals and staff, involving many positive
aspects as well as some negative aspects such as violence, threats and rumors. As a
result of the large number of injuries vast psychosocial rehabilitation program was
initiated by health care staff, religious communions, schools and the community, has
continued over the past years. Such a disaster emphasises a requirement for extensive
preparation not only in the rescue and medical services, but also in the ways and areas
to rehabilitate patients in society. (Cassuto J. & Tarnow P, 2014, ‘The discotheque fire
in Gothenburg 1998: A tragedy among teenagers’, Burns 29, 405–
416.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0305-4179(03)00074-3 [PubMed]

Consequent to many building fires not initiated from accidents but leading to big
disasters,
current fire safety provisions are demonstrated to be insufficient to protect buildings
under
big fires. Enhancement or improvement should be provided for the existing fire safety
provisions in dealing with non-accidental fires. However, it might not be necessary to
revise
the existing building codes to give additional protection against arson and terrorist
attack
fires, as not all buildings are likely to be attacked. An assessment scheme, based on
some (Chow W.K. & Hung W.Y, 2012, ‘Scheme for determining additional fire safety
provisions for tall buildings’, Journal of Applied Fire Science 19, 341–
367.) http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/AF.19.4.d

In any subject area related to the provision of safety, failure is typically the most
effective mechanism for evoking rapid reform and an introspective assessment of the
accepted operating methods and standards within a professional body. In the realm of
tall buildings the most notable failures in history, those of the WTC towers, widely
accepted as fire induced failures, have not to any significant extent affected the way
they are designed with respect to fire safety. This is clearly reflected in the surge in
numbers of Tall Buildings being constructed since 2001. The combination of the
magnitude and time-scale of the WTC investigation coupled with the absence of
meaningful guidance resulting from it strongly hints at the outdatedness of current fire
engineering practice as a discipline in the context of such advanced infrastructure. This
is further reflected in the continual shift from prescriptive to performance based design
in many parts of the world demonstrating an ever growing acceptance that these
buildings are beyond the realm of applicability of prescriptive guidance. In order for true
performance based engineering to occur however, specific performance goals need to
be established for these structures. This work seeks to highlight the critical elements of
a fire safety strategy for tall buildings and thus attempt to highlight some specific global
performance objectives. A survey of tall building fire investigations is conducted in order
to assess the effectiveness of current designs in meeting these objectives, and the
current state-of-the-art of fire safety design guidance for tall structures is also analysed
on these terms. The correct definition of the design fire for open plan compartments is
identified as the critical knowledge gap that must be addressed in order to achieve tall
building performance objectives and to provide truly innovative, robust fire safety for
these unique structures. (Cowlard A., Bittern A., Abecassis-Empis C. & Torero J, 2013,
‘Fire safety design for tall buildings’, Procedia Engineering 62, 169–
181.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2013.08.053 

Background: Preparedness for disasters and emergencies at individual, community and

organizational levels could be more effective tools in mitigating (the growing incidence)
of disaster risk and ameliorating their impacts. That is, to play more significant roles in
disaster risk reduction (DRR). Preparedness efforts focus on changing human
behaviors in ways that reduce people's risk and increase their ability to cope with
hazard consequences. While preparedness initiatives have used behavioral theories to
facilitate DRR, many theories (Ejeta L.T., Ardalan A. & Paton D, 2015, ‘Application of
behavioural theories to disaster and emergency health preparedness: A systematic
review’, PLoS Currents 7, n.p.)

It is felt that given recent events, the performance of a population during an emergency
procedure is less predictable than was once thought. This has potentially serious
consequences during an evacuation, especially where structures have been designed
on the basis of the successful application of emergency procedures. The reaction of the
resident population to these procedures is sensitive to their normal use of the structure
and the level to which the population is engaged and familiar with the procedure. A
method is presented to develop procedures for non-emergency and emergency
situations in partnership with the resident population, to take advantage of their
indigenous knowledge, to improve their familiarity and to engage them in the safety
process. This method is appropriate for situations where emergency procedures are
normally applied and where the population is not transient; e.g., an office environment,
where emergency procedures had been developed. It is felt that by adopting this
approach, the population will be more receptive to the application of these procedures
and that their response may then be more predictable. As an example of this method, a
project framework is outlined in order to describe the approach in sufficient detail and to
encourage future application and testing. (Gwynne S.M.V, 2008, ‘Helping people on
their own terms: Developing inclusive emergency procedures’, Fire Technology 44,
439–461.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10694-007-0039-z

In many countries around the world, building codes are shifting from prescriptive- to
performance-based for technical, economic, and social reasons. This move is made
possible by progress in fire safety technologies, including the development of
engineering tools that are required to implement performance codes. The development
of performance-based codes follows a transparent, hierarchical structure in which there
are usually three levels of objectives. The top level objectives usually state the
functional requirements and the lowest level the performance criteria. Usually, one
middle level exists, however, more levels can be used in this hierarchical structure
depending on the complexity of the requirements. The success of performance-based
codes depends on the ability to establish performance criteria that will be verifiable and
enforceable. The performance criteria should be such that designers can easily
demonstrate, using engineering tools, that their designs meet them and that the code
authority can enforce them. This paper presents the performance criteria that are
currently used by fire protection engineers in designing fire safety systems in buildings.
These include deterministic and probabilistic design criteria as well as safety factors.
The deterministic criteria relate mainly to life safety levels, fire growth and spread levels,
fire exposure and structural performance. The probabilistic criteria focus on the incident
severity and incident likelihood. Finally, the inclusion of safety factors permits a
conservative design and allows for a smaller margin of error due to uncertainty in the
models and the input data. (Hadjisophocleous G.V. & Benichou N, 1999, ‘Performance
criteria used in fire safety design’, Automation in Construction 8, 489–
501.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0926-5805(98)00096-X

This paper examines adaptation to current storm surge flood risk as one indicator of
anticipatory adaptation to climate change impacts. Focusing on community businesses,
a web-based survey obtained information on hurricane preparedness and risk
perceptions in Sarasota County, Florida. A model of current precautionary action that
utilized previously identified business characteristics predictive of business
preparedness and post-disaster recovery, a spatial variable indicating storm surge
exposure, and items measuring the risk perception and information-seeking behavior of
business owners explained a majority of the variance in current levels of preparedness.
Use of online risk information sources and the geographic distribution of customers and
were the strongest predictors of preparedness. Results indicate that the adaptive
capacity of businesses may vary significantly with types of businesses, locations, and
socio-cognitive characteristics of business owners. To encourage overall community
resilience, risk communication efforts should be targeted based on specific elements
that predict business preparedness. (Hadjisophocleous G.V. & Benichou N, 1999,
‘Performance criteria used in fire safety design’, Automation in Construction 8, 489–
501.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0926-5805(98)00096-X  

This paper examines adaptation to current storm surge flood risk as one
indicator of anticipatory adaptation to climate change impacts. Focusing on
community businesses, a web-based survey obtained information on
hurricane preparedness and risk perceptions in Sarasota County, Florida. A
model of current precautionary action that utilized previously identified
business characteristics predictive of business preparedness and post-disaster
recovery, a spatial variable indicating storm surge exposure, and items
measuring the risk perception and information-seeking behavior of business
owners explained a majority of the variance in current levels of preparedness.
Use of online risk information sources and the geographic distribution of
customers and were the strongest predictors of preparedness. Results indicate
that the adaptive capacity of businesses may vary significantly with types of
businesses, locations, and socio-cognitive characteristics of business owners.
To encourage overall community resilience, risk communication efforts should
be targeted based on specific elements that predict business preparedness.
(Howe P.D, 2011, ‘Hurricane preparedness as anticipatory adaptation: A case study
of community businesses’, Global Environmental Change 21, 711–
720.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.02.001

Forty saw dust samples from four mature hard wood plants grown in southwestern part
of Nigeria were analyzed for their ash contents, moisture contents, metallic contents
and hence the fire extinguishing strength of the saw dust ash by classical and
instrumental methods of analyses. Mahogany (Khaya ivorensis) wood saw dust ash had
the highest mean metallic content (5.989±2.51ppm) followed by Opepe (Sarcocephalus
latifolius), 4.704±0.21ppm while Poro poro (Sorghum bicolour) wood ash had the least
metallic content (1.611±0.48ppm). Mahogany also had the highest mean moisture
content (2.6615±0.64) while Opepe had the least moisture content (0.9362±0.45). The
fire extinguishing strength of Mahogany was the highest, and had a positive correlation
with its metallic content as depicted by their correlation coefficient (0.850). Poro poro
had the least fire extinguishing strength. The comparison of the extinguishing strength
of wood saw dust samples and the commonly used ABC fire extinguisher showed that
ABC fire extinguisher has more extinguishing strength than the wood saw dust ash.
Hence, improvement on the extinguishing strength of the saw dust ash is necessary.
(Ibe K., Elemike E. & Chukwuma S, 2014, ‘Fire extinguishing strength of the
combustion product of wood saw dust (ash)’, Journal ofApplication Science and
Environmental Management 18, 553–557. )

This paper examines the criteria and attributes for assessing fire risks in buildings.
Using the Analytical Hierarchy Method (AHP) a survey questionnaire was developed
based on the identified criteria and attributes of fire risks for heritage buildings in
Malaysia. The survey questionnaire was administered to consultant, Fire Rescue
Department (FRDM) personnel, maintenance professionals and insurance professional.
The data were analysed using ExperChoice2000 software. The result of the research is
the weightage for each criterion and its respective attributes. (Ibrahim M.N., Abdul-
Hamid K., Ibrahim M.S., Mohd-Din A., Yunus R.M. & Yahya M.R, 2011, ‘The
development of fire risk assessment method for heritage building’, Procedia
Engineering 20, 317–324.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2011.11.172 
Buildings as infrastructure along with people’s lives need protection against fire
outbreaks. Knowledge on the use of installed facilities is essential in tackling There
emergencies, otherwise their installation becomes meaningless. Lack of such
knowledge could hamper escape from There hazards and thwart attempts to contain
there outbreaks at their preliminary stage. THis study, carried out in the Central
Business District of Dar es Salaam City, assessed urban there risk with respect to
public awareness on the use of #re #ghting facilities and preparedness in the event of
#re outbreaks. Public buildings with at least four storeys or 2000m2 floor space were
surveyed. According to the Fire and Rescue Act of 2007, such buildings have to be
provided with adequate means of escape and #re #ghting facilities. Data was collected
through observation and interviews with building managers, users and key informants.
The study revealed high there disaster risk in most buildings of the study area, as 60%
of the buildings’ users do not know how to operate the facilities, and 41% are not aware
of the available escape means in case of there outbreak. Worse still, only 29% had
received training within the past five years, and 68% had never been trained.( Kachenje
Y., Kihila J. & Nguluma H, 2010, ‘Assessing urban fire risk in the central business
district of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’, Journal of Disaster Risk Studies 3, 321–
334.) http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/jamba.v3i1.33 

The most crucial aspect of a building's safety in the face of fire is the possibility of safe
escape. An important precondition is that its fire safety facilities enable independent and
adequate fire response performances by the building's occupants. In practice, it appears
that the measures currently required by law do not always provide the support that
people in burning buildings need. Consequently, understanding how individuals behave
in the case of fire and fire evacuation is essential if we are to bring fire safety measures
into line with occupants’ needs during an incident. This paper contains a review of the
available literature on human behaviour in a fire so far as building safety is concerned.
The findings are presented as an overview of the critical factors which determine
occupants’ fire response performances, namely the characteristics of fire, human beings
and buildings. The study highlights that some of the assumptions about the existing
paradigm of fire safety in buildings are not consistent with the knowledge set out in the
literature. The key observation is that psychonomics appear to have significant influence
on occupants’ fire response performances. Accordingly, the traditional approach to fire
safety will have to be supplemented by scientific knowledge from this field. Hence, there
is a need for a new approach to fire safety design in buildings, which is set out herein.
(Kobes M., Helsloot I., De Vries B. & Post J.G, 2010, ‘Building safety and human
behaviour in fire: A literature review’, Fire Safety Journal 45, 1–
11.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2009.08.005

The most crucial aspect of a building's safety in the face of fire is the possibility of safe
escape. An important precondition is that its fire safety facilities enable independent and
adequate fire response performances by the building's occupants. In practice, it appears
that the measures currently required by law do not always provide the support that
people in burning buildings need. Consequently, understanding how individuals behave
in the case of fire and fire evacuation is essential if we are to bring fire safety measures
into line with occupants’ needs during an incident. This paper contains a review of the
available literature on human behaviour in a fire so far as building safety is concerned.
The findings are presented as an overview of the critical factors which determine
occupants’ fire response performances, namely the characteristics of fire, human beings
and buildings. The study highlights that some of the assumptions about the existing
paradigm of fire safety in buildings are not consistent with the knowledge set out in the
literature. The key observation is that psychonomics appear to have significant influence
on occupants’ fire response performances. Accordingly, the traditional approach to fire
safety will have to be supplemented by scientific knowledge from this field. Hence, there
is a need for a new approach to fire safety design in buildings, which is set out herein.
(Kobes M., Post J., Helsloot I. & Vries B, 2008, ‘Fire risk of high-rise buildings based on
human behavior in fires’, First International Conference on fire Safety of High-rise
Buildings, Bucharest, Romania, May 07–09, 2008.)

Fire disasters in secondary boarding schools in Kenya. (Kukali A.N. &

Kabuka E.K, 2009, ‘Fire disasters in secondary boarding schools in
Kenya’, Journal of Disaster Management and Risk Reduction 3, 60–71.)
Background. Fires cause 1% of the global burden of disease. Fire (includes explosion)
disasters have immense health, social, and environmental costs. We will provide initial
estimates of overall U.S. and global fire tolls from smoking.
Methods. We tabulated and summarized smoking-related fire and disaster tolls from
published documents. We compared those tolls to U.S. fire, burn, and fire death rates
per billion cigarettes extrapolated globally. Smoking-attributable percentages of adult
and child access to cigarette lighter and match ignitions (lights), and resultant fires,
burns, and deaths ignited by young children, were estimated from likely smoking-
attributable lights usage. Cigarette plus cigarette lights fire tolls were multiplied times
published and estimated fire costs.
Results. Smoking is the leading cause of residential or total fire death in all eight
countries with available statistics. Smoking is a leading cause of fires in many more
countries. Cigarettes cause numerous fire disasters. Cigarette lights cause an estimated
100,000 U.S. and one million global, child-playing fires per year. Cigarette lights fire
injuries likely rival U.S., and possibly global, cigarette fire injury numbers. Smoking
causes an estimated 30% of U.S. and 10% of global fire death burdens. Smoking's
estimated U.S. and global fire costs were $6.95 (sensitivity range $5.34–22.8) and
$27.2 (sensitivity range $8.2–89.2) billion, respectively, in 1998 U.S. dollars.
Conclusions. Smoking likely causes large global fire tolls. U.S. fire tolls have fallen
when smoking decreased. Further reducing smoking can substantially reduce fire and
disaster tolls. (Leistikow B.N., Martin D.C. & Milano C.E, 2000, ‘Fire injuries, disasters,
and costs from cigarettes and cigarette lights: A global overview’, Preventive
Medicine 31, 91–99.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/pmed.2000.0680 [PubMed]

There are several problems in the fire safety design of a high-rise residential
building: the staircase for evacuation can’t run from the top to the ground and
the occupants can’t directly evacuate to the outside of the building; fire lift
can’t directly reach the first floor and the scissor-shaped staircase shares its
lobby with the fire lift. Based on these problems, fire safety objectives have
been defined and suggested solutions have been provided. Hopefully, the
suggested solutions can provide references for the fire safety design of similar
high-rise buildings. (Ma Q. & Guo W, 2012, ‘Discussion on the fire safety design of a
high-rise building’, Procedia Engineering 45, 685–
689.)http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2012.08.223

Fire‐related accidents often result in injuries and sometimes death, which can be
prevented through compliance to legislation and public awareness on fire safety. This
study establishes fire safety measures in place in local universities in Kenya, and
compared the compliance status between private and public universities on essential
fire safety measures based on the stipulations of the fire risk reduction Rules, LN 59 of
2007. Data was collected using questionnaires from seven universities (three public and
four private). (Makachia G.L., Gatebe E. & Makhonge P, 2014, ‘Evaluation of fire safety
measures at local universities in Kenya with reference to fire risk reduction rules ln59,
2007’, Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology 16, 172–186.)

This paper presents the results of a research work which analysed the status of fire
precaution systems in hotels in Spain.

Our field research involved visits to a total of 146 hotels during 2004. In order to
examine the fire safety of these facilities we made use of the official checklist of the
Spanish administrative body competent on the matter. The checklist monitors
documentary and technical requirements as stated by the current fire protection
regulations for buildings. As far as fire precaution systems are concerned, most of the
defects detected had to do with either documentary issues (for example, absence of a
technical installation project or certificates of compulsory maintenance contracts for the
equipment) or technical issues, such as the absence of smoke detection and alarm
devices, defective signage or difficult access to firefighting equipment (fire extinguishers
and hydrants). Beach hotels present a higher safety level than city hotels. The lowest
safety standards are found in isolated hotels, i.e., neither beach nor city hotels, usually
in small towns or away from centres of population. Of all the hotels visited, the safety
level was also higher in those subject to the regulations inspiring the checklist.
(Márquez Sierra F.J., Rubio-Romero J.C. & Rubio Gámez M.C, 2012, ‘Status of
facilities for fire safety in hotels’, Safety Science 50, 1490–
1494.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2012.01.006 

This article examines the scope and prospect for effective utilization of social capital in
mitigating the consequences of natural disasters that hit coastal regions. The article
concludes by identifying the role of social work education and practice in building social
capital for sustainable disaster relief and management. (Mathbor G.M, 2007,
‘Enhancement of community preparedness for natural disasters: The role of social work
in building social capital for sustainable disaster relief and management’, International
Social Work 50, 357–369.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0020872807076049 

Italy is a country highly vulnerable to floods and landslides. The present study aims to
investigate disaster preparedness and perception of flood risk in a group of people living
in an alpine valley in the north of Italy. Four hundred seven adult residents in nine
communities exposed to hydrogeological risk were interviewed by using a structured
questionnaire. Participants were asked about the adoption of a set of protective
behaviors that can prevent negative consequences of floods. Perception of flood risk
was assessed by means of a one-dimensional scale that was developed and validated
by the authors. Items included in this scale asked participants to estimate likelihood of
occurrence of different flood consequences and to express feelings of worry associated
to them. Socio-demographic and experiential information on respondents were also
collected. Overall, results showed that most of respondents were fairly well prepared to
deal with a future flood disaster. Correlational and regression analyses indicated that
disaster preparedness was positively associated with risk perception. In accordance
with literature, there was not a significant relation between likelihood judgments and
adoption of protective behaviors, while feelings of worry were associated with disaster
preparedness. Authors interpret their results in relation to the socio-environmental
characteristics of the studied communities. Theoretical, empirical and practical
implications of the findings are also discussed. (Miceli R., Sotgiu I. & Settanni M, 2008,
‘Disaster preparedness and perception of flood risk: A study in an alpine valley in
Italy’, Journal of Environmental Psychology 28, 164–
173.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2007.10.006

Each year people die or are seriously injured as a result of fires at work. Besides loss of
life, fire costs Kenya millions of shillings from damage of property, loss of business, fire
compensation and insurance premiums. Many of these fires can be avoided by taking
fire precautions. If a fire breaks out a lot of the effects can be minimised by having
effective controls and procedures in place. Statistics fromNyeri Fire Department show
that a hundred and twelve (112) fire outbreaks have been experienced in Nyeri
Municipality. (Murage J.G, 2012, Factors influencing fire disaster preparedness in the
central business District of Nyeri town, Nyeri county, Project Planning and Management,
University of Nairobi, Nairobi.)

Despite considerable effort and expenditure on public hazard education, levels of

disaster preparedness remain low. By integrating and expanding on natural hazards
and health research on protective behaviour, this paper proposes a social cognitive
model of disaster preparedness. The model describes a developmental process that
commences with factors that motivate people to prepare, progresses through the
formation of intentions, and culminates in decisions to prepare. Following their critical
appraisal, variables implicated at each stage are identified and their role in the
preparedness process described. The implications of the model for the
conceptualisation and assessment of preparedness is discussed, as is its implications
for risk reduction and communication strategies. (Paton D, 2003, ‘Disaster
preparedness: A social cognitive perspective’, Disaster Prevention and Management:
An International Journal 12, 210–216.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09653560310480686
SAFETY AWARENESS OF EMERGENCY AMONG STUDENTS OF A STATE
UNIVERSITY IN NORTHWESTERN NIGERIA Page 1 Science World Journal Vol 9 (No
1) 2014 www.scienceworldjournal.orgISSN 1597-6343 Safety Awareness Of
Emergency Among Students Of A State University In North western Nigeria SAFETY
AWARENESS OF EMERGENCY AMONG STUDENTS OF A STATE UNIVERSITY IN
NORTHWESTERN NIGERIA Sankey, A .N1; Joshua, IA2; Omole,NV2 1Department of
Geography, Kaduna State University, Kaduna, Nigeria 2Department. (Sankey A.N.,
Joshua I.A. & Omole N.V, 2014, ‘Safety awareness of emergency among students of
astate university in Northwestern Nigeria’, Science World Journal 9, 28–33.)

Disasters have been the subject of research and a source of concern to academicians
and government and independent agencies. In this paper disaster types are collected
from several sources such as technical, general articles, internet web sites, and internal
reports. Disaster types, definitions, hazards and mitigations are reviewed. Disasters are
classified into natural disasters, man‐made disasters, and hybrid disasters. Man‐made
disasters are classified into technological disasters, transportation accidents, public
places failure, and production failure. Natural and/or man‐made disasters sometimes
lead to subsequent disasters. (Shaluf I.M, 2007, ‘An overview on disasters’, Disaster
Prevention and Management: An International Journal 16, 687–
703.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09653560710837000

In Hong Kong which is characterized by its tall, reinforced-concrete buildings with

multiple owners, most of the high-rise buildings constructed before the mid-1970s are
dilapidated. In order to address this problem, the Hong Kong Government intends to
introduce mandatory safety assurance requirements with its so-called “Building Safety
Inspection Scheme,” under which building owners would be required to appoint building
professionals to assess the safety level of their buildings and to recommend appropriate
corrective actions. In order to ensure uniform standards and easy administration, the
Hong Kong Government intends to publish assessment guidelines. One of the major
safety aspects the guidelines will addresses is fire safety, since, over the past few
years, several large, tragic fires have occurred in the city's high-rises. This article
proposes a fuzzy fire safety assessment approach based on fire risk ranking techniques
that may form part of the safety evaluation tool for existing buildings. The basic
principles of the system are briefly described, and its implementation is outlined. (Siu
M.L, 1999, ‘A fire safety assessment for existing buildings’, Fire Technology 35, 131–
152.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1015463821818 

The impact of disasters, whether natural or man-made, not only has human dimensions,
but environmental ones as well. Environmental conditions may exacerbate the impact of
a disaster, and vice versa, disasters tend to have an impact on the environment.
Deforestation, forest management practices, or agriculture systems can worsen the
negative environmental impacts of a storm or typhoon, leading to landslides, flooding,
silting, and ground/surface water contamination.

We have only now come to understand these cyclical causes and impacts and realize
that taking care of our natural resources and managing them wisely not only assures
that future generations will be able to live in sustainable ways, but also reduces the risks
that natural and man-made hazards pose to people living today. Emphasizing and
reinforcing the centrality of environmental concerns in disaster management has
become a critical priority, requiring the sound management of natural resources as a
tool to prevent disasters and lessen their impacts on people, their homes, and
livelihoods.

As the horrors of the Asian tsunami of December 2004 continue to be evaluated, and
people in the region slowly attempt to build a semblance of normalcy, we have to look to
the lessons learnt from the tsunami disaster as an opportunity to prepare ourselves
better for future disasters. This article focuses on findings and lessons learnt on the
environmental aspects of the tsunami, and its implications on disaster preparedness
plans.

This article essentially emphasizes the cyclical interrelations between environments and
disasters, by studying the findings and assessments of the recent Indian Ocean
earthquake and tsunami that struck on 26 December 2004. It specifically looks at four
key affected countries — Maldives, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand. (Srinivas H. &
Nakagawa Y, 2008, ‘Environmental implications for disaster preparedness: Lessons
learnt from the Indian Ocean Tsunami’, Journal of Environmental Management 89, 4–
13.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.01.054

This study examines how flood risk perception and home ownership affect residents’
preparedness for floods, focusing specifically on the case of the Tokai flood disaster in
Nagoya City, one of Japan’s biggest metropolises, in 2000. The greatest rainfall ever
recorded in Nagoya City (566.5 mm) occurred on 11–12 September 2000; as a result, a
local river burst its banks and flooded the city. A survey was conducted of residents of
the affected area in Nagoya City and its adjacent region. The respondents were asked
to rate the extent of their experience with, anticipation of, and preparedness for floods
before and after the Tokai disaster in terms of taking special measures against floods.
The results showed that the degree of preparedness for floods was determined by the
level of fear of floods and the amount of damage sustained during the Tokai flood,
especially for homeowners. However, the residents’ preparedness did not depend on
their anticipation of floods. These findings show that preparedness for floods depends
on ownership of a home, fear of flooding, and the amount of damage from previous
floods rather than on previous experience with and anticipation of floods. (Takao K.,
Motoyoshi T., Sato T., Fukuzondo T., Seo K. & Ikeda S, 2004, ‘Factors determining
residents’ preparedness for floods in modern megalopolises: The case of the Tokai
flood disaster in Japan’, Journal of Risk Research 7, 775–
787.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1366987031000075996 
The lack of disaster preparedness by the public and it's affect on
communities. (Wilson S., Temple B., Milliron M., Vazquez C., Packard M.
& Rudy B, 2007, ‘The lack of disaster preparedness by the public and it’s
affect on communities’, The Internet Journal of Rescue and Disaster
Medicine 7, 1–8.)

This article presents building fire risk analysis model based on scenario

clusters and its application in fire risk management of buildings. Building
fire risk analysis is a process of understanding and characterizing the fire
hazards, the unwanted outcomes that may result from the fire, and the
probabilities of fire and unwanted outcomes occurring. The purpose is to
evaluate and make a decision about the level of fire risk to determine
whether to take appropriate risk management measures or not.
Therefore, building fire risk analysis serves as a basis for fire risk
management. In the paper, scenario clusters are constructed in the
process of building fire risk analysis, and the number of deaths and
directive property loss are selected as building fire risk indexes. Finally,
the average fire risk of residential buildings is quantified in detail. With the
types of detailed fire risk models developed here, fire risk management
measures could be taken to improve the building fire safety grading and
reduce fire risk levels and subsequent damage. (Xin J. & Huang C, 2013,
‘Fire risk analysis of residential buildings based on scenario clusters and
its application infire risk management’, Fire Safety Journal 62, 72–
78.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2013.09.022 

In light of the events of September 11, 2001, a concern in the fire safety
community is that the public attitudes toward emergency evacuation
procedures and preparedness may have changed and that current
assumptions about occupant behavior may no longer be valid. In 2006, a
survey of high-rise building occupants was conducted to explore their
knowledge of high-rise building safety and emergency evacuation
procedures and their attitudes and perceptions about high-rise safety and
emergency evacuation procedures. Some 244 residential building
occupants in Chicago, New York City and San Francisco and 228
commercial building occupants in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, and Philadelphia were surveyed. The study revealed that
the events of September 11, 2001 have heightened occupants concerns
about safety in high-rise buildings. Eight in ten commercial building
respondents participated in a fire drill in the last year, compared to 18% of
residential building respondents. Among both survey respondents, the
most frequent top-of-mind suggestion to building management to improve
safety was “more fire drills.” Almost all occupants know where the fire
exits are. And, keeping with conventional wisdom, most occupants
believe using elevators is unsafe during a fire, however, 28% also believe
that going to the roof is a possible alternative to using the stairs. These
findings support the need for continued public education about
emergency evacuations procedures in high-rise buildings. (Zmud M,
2008, ‘Public perceptions of high-rise building emergency evacuation
preparedness’, Fire Technology 44, 329–
336.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10694-008-0057-5 

Local Studies.

The study of Canas, et al.,(2016), entitled “Firefighting Capabilityof Libmanan Fire

Station”, revealed that the firefighting facilities of the fire station was moderately
adequate and some did not conform to be standard set by the National Fire Protection
Association.Another finding in the study was on the leadership of the municipal Fire
Marshal, wherecommunity cooperation and manpower was moderately capable.

Dolot (2007), in his study entitilled “Fire Suppression Capability and Performance ofthe
Bureau of Fire Protection in Legaspi City”. Time is a consideration in response
andrecommends installation of at least five (5) water hydrants within Legaspi city to
minimizethe time for water refilling during fire incident and, review of the MOA should be
done bythe support groups and the BFP in order to iron out lapses and encourage
further contributions to a better fire protection services in the City of Legaspi and that
the BFPshould focus on improving it present capability.

Gandia (2008), in his thesis entitled “Fire Prevention Program of the Bureau of Fire
Protection (BFP) in Urdaneta City”, he evaluated the Fire Prevention Program
particularly the enforcement phase of the BFP in the City of Urdaneta during the period
of2006 to 2007, as to whether it was fully implemented or not. It is also determined the
extentof compliance by the business/building owners/occupants to the standard of the
Fire Codeof the Philippines assessed by the BFP Personnel of the Urdaneta City and
level ofeffectiveness in the implementation of the Fire Prevention Program as perceived
by theBFP Personnel and resident of the City. The study shows that on the conduct of
fire safetyinspection as a requirement to the grant of permits/licenses, for the occupancy
of the building and installation of Fire Protection and fire safety equipment, the
personnel and residents have the same descriptive rating of the “high.” Perception with
regards to the level of effectiveness of the Fire Prevention Program on fire safety
requirements to business, structures and their premises or facilities BFP Personnel rate
it high compared tothe residents with moderate. Extent of Compliance to the Fire Code
of the Philippines, theBFP Personnel assessed the compliance standards as high.

Cervantes and Soriano (2011), in the study entitled “Performance of the Bureau of Fire
Protection (BFP): Contributions to Fire Management”, fires are one of the few calamities
of which people can prevent. Besides the effort of the Bureau of Fire Protectionand the
passing of the Revise Fire Code or RA 9514 in 2008, fires are still one of theleading
man-made disasters in the Philippines. In 2011, there had already been several fires
like the incident on February 7 which left 3000 families homeless. Other than that,
mostestablishments, most notably in Baguio, are fire safety violators (Dar, 2011).
Theseincidents bring into question the effectiveness of the action and programs of the
BFP interms of their response to fire emergencies. The study assessed the
effectiveness of the BFP’s response method, campaigns and projects, and came up
with proposals that wouldincrease the effectiveness of fire management in the country.

Velasco (2013), in his study entitled “Epidemiological Assessment of Fires in the

Philippines, 2010-2012”. He stated that fires are the most costly preventable emergency
inthe Philippines but are relatively unstudied. Fires were a greater problem from 2010
to2012 and affected the same geographic locations. A total of 883 fires and 824 fire-
relatedcasualties were reported, majority of which occurred throughout November to
March, weremore frequent from midnight to 3 a.m., and most often involved residential
areas. Noimprovement in the fire situation was noted for 2010 to 2012. Thus, there is a
need toreview present local and national efforts at fire prevention and control. Further
researchand analysis of causes and determinants of fire would provide more useful
information forfire prevention policy and planning in the Philippines.

From the gathered previous study and literature both foreign and local, it can
beobserved that if the community is equipped with the knowledge regarding fire safety
programs, they can achieve a free-fire community. In the study of Canas, et al.,
(2016)revealed that the firefighting facilities of the fire station was moderately adequate
and some did not conform to be standard set by the National Fire Protection entitled
“firefightingcapability”. The study of Cervantes and Soriano (2011), in the study entitled
“Performance of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP): Contributions to Fire
Management”, fires are one 16 of the few calamities of which people can prevent.
Besides the effort of the Bureau of FireProtection. And the passing of the Revise Fire
Code or RA 9514 in 2008, fires are still oneof the leading man-made disasters in the
Philippines. Every citizen should know that firesafety eliminates, eradicate and remove
all probable fire hazards in our homes and work places. Ardales (2004) said that the
implementation of programs should be intensified inorder to create greater impact to the
community. Advocacy should be also be made in allsectors of the Barangay to
participate in the implementation of the programs. She addedthat, more strategies
should be employed, and that weakness of the strategies should beaddressed while the
strengths should be sustained. (Bitonio, 2013)