BFP Bacolod Reports 52% Drop in Fire Incidents

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY – The Bureau of Fire Protection in Bacolod reported a 52.4 percent decrease in fire incidents as of June 15 compared to the same period last year.

Records show that only 82 fire incidents occurred in the first half of 2025, down from 172 in 2024.

The incidents this year involved 44 residential structures, 15 non-structural cases, 14 non-residential buildings, and nine vehicular fires.

Damage to property also fell significantly, dropping by PHP43,338,374—from PHP51,170,754 in 2024 to PHP7,832,380 in 2025.

The number of injured civilians declined by 55 percent, from 11 last year to five this year.

However, the BFP reported three civilian fatalities this year, a 100 percent increase from zero in 2024.

Among the fatalities were two siblings, aged 6 and 8, who died in a fire caused by a lighted candle during a power outage in Barangay 1 on May 20.

Another incident occurred on May 24 in Barangay Mandalagan, where a one-year-old girl perished in a fire sparked by an unattended candle after her siblings left her to attend a purok fiesta.

Her six-year-old sister, who was injured in the same fire, later died in the hospital but was not included in the BFP’s official data.

The BFP again urged the public to exercise caution when using candles and electrical appliances to prevent similar tragedies.