The Occupational Safety and Health Center โ Region 6, together with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and OSH partners, celebrates Fire Prevention Month 2022 with the theme "๐๐ ๐๐๐ -๐ข๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ข ๐๐ ๐๐๐ -๐ข๐ข๐ฌ๐." This month's celebration is honored under Presidential Proclamation No. 115-A.
"The dry season is finally here, and fire safety becomes a bigger challenge in the workplace. In line with this year's theme, the OSHC-Region 6 highlights the strengthening of establishments' fire safety programs following the Republic Act 11058 and its implementing rules and regulations," said OSHC-Region 6 OIC Melveen Melocoton.
According to the OSH law, the safety officer shall oversee the implementation of the OSH program, inspect various areas in the workplace, assist government entities in conducting investigations, and implement work stoppage as necessary to safeguard workers' lives and prevent further property damages. The safety officer shall ensure workplace coordination relating to fire drills and workers' OSH seminars in properly manipulating fire extinguishers.
In early 2022, the BFP recorded a 13 percent increase in fire incidents for the first two months versus 2021. According to the agency's fire investigators, most fire incidents resulted from total disregard for fire safety measures by carelessly using electrical items for long periods.
In some establishments, there is a risk of fire in some cases whenever heat sources and combustible materials are present. Many industrial sites include volatile materials that might explode or burst into flames if not adequately controlled and kept. While each establishment has fire hazards, several common issues might result in a fire or explosion in every industrial complex or manufacturing facility.
"We call the support of our owners, employers, managers, and employees to implement and participate in fire prevention control measures. We also call our safety professionals to voluntarily assist the establishments with hard times developing such programs, especially the micro and small enterprises (MSEs)," stressed Melocoton.
The OSHC-Region 6, in coordination with OSH partners, continues to provide safety officer training schedules to enhance the awareness and vigilance of establishments in preventing unwanted fire incidents.
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