by Christian Alaine Cuevo and Nhil Xavier Piñera
“O, anak bawal maglaro ng lighter ah” (Son, you should not play with a lighter), a mother said to her son while watching an infomercial that talks about fire prevention.
This morning Berong Bumbero and Listong bulilit was brought to Barangay Lalakay’s Daycare Center. Infomercials were shown to the children and their parents. Fire Officer 2 Ron Bago discussed about the do’s and don’ts when calamities hits. Both the children and the parents participated in the discussion and in the bucket relay conducted shortly after the short lecture.
Children from Lalakay together with their parents pay close attention to the fire officer speaking in front.
Bureau of Fire Protection’s (BFP) Berong Bumbero, the bureau’s mascot, began making its tour to different schools to teach students about fire prevention and safety precautions.
According to BFP’s Chief of Operations SF01 Duanniee Fadri, this nationwide event is held every March to educate the young ones about the importance of fire safety and awareness. According to him, their program targets children since they want to start teach the younger generations. They believe that children are easier to teach than adults.
In Laguna, BFP’s Berong Bumbero sa Paaralan partnered with Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management’s (MDRRM) Listong Bulilit, a program launched just this year, to strengthen their campaign on disaster prevention and awareness. “Tandem kami diyan. Regarding sa disasters at Hazards like Bagyo, Volcanic Eruptions, especially Earthquake kasi we’re preparing for the Big One. Sila yung target kasi sila usually yung affected kapag may mga nangyayari na ganyan. ‘Yang mga bata,”
(We’re preparing for disasters such as typhoons, volcanic eruptions, especially earthquakes since we’re expecting the “Big One”. They [the children] are our target since they’re the ones most affected when such calamities hit.) said SF01 Fadri.
While Listong bulilit focuses on natural hazards, Berong Bumbero sa Paaralan talks about basic fire prevention and suppression. SF01 Fadri said that BFP and MDRRM maintains close relations since they are the ones who work when calamity hits. That is why they conduct joint programs like this one.
Joy Liwanagan, a mother of two from upper dampalit, said that she teaches her children no to play with lighters and matches to avoid accidents. On the other hand, Julie Ann Galang, a mother of two from Libis Lalakay, said that this campaign is a big help since not all households have BFP’s contact number in case there is fire or accidents.
For emergencies or inquiries, you can reach BFP through their telephone number 539-7965 or 530-2818 for the municipal hall’s action center.