New QC fire code benefits seen

The local government of Quezon City announced that it is finalizing its own fire code to prevent further fires in the city. The new code will detail violations and corresponding penalties.

Councilor Rannie Ludovica, head of the City Council’s Committee on Public Order and Safety, said the committee has been drafting the new code for over a year to address not only illegal electrical connections but also schemes used by business owners to circumvent the city’s safety measures.

“All we are waiting for are the recommendations from the University of the Philippines team commissioned by Mayor Joy Belmonte to conduct a study on our proposed new City Fire Code,” Ludovica said in a statement.

“The study will help us identify loopholes in the national fire code that may not be applicable at the local level,” he added.

Ludovica said the new local fire code will also assist Manila Electric Company in weeding out illegal electrical connections, particularly in areas occupied by informal settler families (ISFs).

“Those houses (of ISFs) don’t have or have not gone through electrical permits,” Ludovica said. “The new fire code will require house-to-house inspections with barangay (village) officials given authority to conduct checks.”

He expects the new fire code to be approved and signed by the mayor in the first quarter of 2025 for implementation.

“This should probably lessen the number of fires in the city,” he added.

Ludovica believes that once structures are identified as fire hazards, the new fire code will mandate that they not be inhabited.