March is Fire Prevention Month in the Philippines.

On the 1st March sirens can be heard all over the Philippine streets – it is the start of Fire Prevention Month.  The summer months are hot and dry and March is recorded as having high fire recordings, so the Bureau Of Fire Municipality make it an advocacy that all schools, universities, public and private offices, and communities such as the Greg Secker Foundation Village are made aware of not only how to prevent a fire but what to do in one.

We were lucky to be joined by the Bureau of Fire of Municipality of Lemery again. Last December they visited the village and held some lectures in fire safety and tips. Now the beneficiaries are in their homes there are more fire hazards such as electricity for them to learn about, and how they can help one another should a fire break out in their house or indeed their neighbours house. 

The beneficiaries split into groups and practiced different drills. How to quickly and efficiently get water to the fire – the good old fashioned “bucket brigade” system, passing a bucket of water down the line to the fire. 

In the lecture the fire department suggested that every household has a member who would be part of the fire fighting team, to have someone in charge of contacting the fire department during a fire, to have security in charge of clearing the road for when the fire truck arrives and a rescue team. 

All of these lessons in health and safety are very important now that they are living together in such a close community.  They have to know how to help not only themselves but also their neighbour.