Level of Capability of Bureau of Fire Protection in Responding Emergencies

Basis for Intervention Program

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Rationale
The local government is directly in charge of the public's safety, understanding of the
circumstances, and associated resource needs, proximity to, and both an occasion and
resources. There are emergency services there. a division that is capable of responding
to crises might happen at any time. Among them is law. public safety, emergency
medical services, and law enforcement works. They could also be called emergency
response. personnel or emergency personnel. The Philippines' Bureau of Fire
Protection (BFP) is a government organization whose mission is to curtail and prevent
the occurrence of devastating fires, uphold applicable regulations, and offer rescue and
medical assistance in an emergency. However, The BFP must fight an uphill battle in
the execution of its duty in a country that is prone to conflagrations, like the Philippines.
The nation is burdened with aging or insufficient infrastructure that has been established
or built, such as electrical systems, and which consequently provide a considerable fire
risk. Furthermore, the union of two of the nation's summers that are swelteringly hot and
rainy monsoon seasons expose the nation's poor infrastructure. systems constantly
under their own unique type of pressure. Additionally, the BFP is not given any relief
over the vacation. the time of year. the fireworks addiction of the Filipinos, poses a
significant concern, particularly around Christmas. right to property, to one's way of life,
etc.
It is no stretch to say that consequently, the BFP has its work cut out for it. To make
matters worse, since its creation, the BFP has come under scrutiny for having gained
something of a reputation for corruption and inefficiency. However, much effort has also
been expended over the years to bring the BFP to the level of competence and
professionalism it needs to properly discharge its duties. (Sanchez, 2013).
Considerable knowledge, skill, and judgment are required to provide quality emergency
medical services. High quality emergency medical services and first responders are an
important part of any health care system. Many studies of pre-hospital services place
greater emphasis on human factors, efficiency and continuous refinement of standards
of practice. (Page, Sbat, Vasquez, Yalcin, 2013).
The lack of trained pre-hospital providers, modern equipment, and ambulance vehicles
accounts for the challenges and short comings to provide quality emergency medical
services. The BFP mission is to prevent and suppress destructive fires, investigate its
causes, give emergency medical and rescue services, and enforce other fire related
laws with the active involvement of the community. Its purpose is to ensure operational
readiness of the EMS team on duty. (BFP Operational Procedures Manual, 2015).
This led the researchers to investigate the size of the BFP's capacity to respond to
emergencies in Ilocos Norte. The study's findings could potentially be helpful. As to
what function they play in the operations Explain what areas require improvement. In
addition, this would assist Ilocos Sur Province and the Municipality as well in creating
strategies and directives that would even increase the office's services. The Situation
College of Health students studying medical technology Sciences from the Northern
Philippines University would also gain from the office's better performance.

OBJECTIVES: This Study is to determine the level of capability of bureau of fire

protection in responding emergencies and to provide intervention program base on the
result.
Specifically, it sought to answer the following:

1. To determine the level of capability of bureau of fire protection in responding

emergencies;
2. To provide intervention program base on the result;

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The researcher visualizes that the findings of this study will be useful and significant to
the following:
Establishment. This study would help them to give them a knowledge about fire safety
protocol in addition to avoid their establishment being in caught in fire. It will make them
prepared in times of fire. Additionally, this course will teach them how to use appliances
safely and without risking an explosion or fire.
Criminology Students. They will be able to apply the study's findings to similar future
research projects. If students want to become BFP officers in the future, they will gain
from knowing about fire prevention. They can learn and offer assistance if there is a fire
nearby.
Society. This study will raise public awareness of fire safety precautions. When there is
a fire scenario and our BFPs are not yet available to respond, this research will also aid
society in coming up with potential solutions. Additionally, it will encourage creativity in
coping with fire situations.
BFP Fighters. With the aid of this study, they will be able to assess the effectiveness
and efficiency of their service in terms of preventing fires. The results of this study will
reveal the level of firefighter readiness of our BFP staff. Additionally, it will improve their
reputation in the eyes of the public.
Fire Victims. This study will educate the fire victims on how to be more watchful and
prevent being another fire victim. They will also get knowledge and strategies from this
research for dealing with fire-related issues. Additionally, it will aid kids in developing
self-awareness, particularly when dealing with fire in their home.
Researcher. The researcher would learn more about the challenges faced by female
inmates thanks to this study. He would learn more about the tactics used by the person
in charge thanks to this study. It will enable him to learn more about the criminal justice
system and use the information learned for his own journey.
Future Researchers. This Research the Future research that is related to the findings
of this study may utilize it as a guide. In order to advance or broaden pre-existing ideas
and facts, this would also point them in the direction of taking appropriate actions in
places where earlier scholars have fell short.
Definition of Terms

The following words used in this study were defined on its conceptual and

operational use for a better understanding and explanation:

LEVEL OF CAPABILITY. A capability level is a well-defined evolutionary plateau describing

the organization's capability relative to a process area. A capability level consists of related

specific and generic practices for a process area that can improve the organization's processes

associated with that process area.

BUREAU OF FIRE PROTECTION. The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is responsible for the
prevention and suppression of all destructive fires in buildings, houses and other structures,
forests, land transportation vehicles and equipment, ships or vessels docked at piers or wharves
or anchored in major seaports, petroleum industry installations, plane crashes and other similar
incidents. The BFP enforces the Fire Code and other related laws and investigates all causes of
fires and, if necessary, files the proper complaints with the city or provincial prosecutor who
has jurisdiction over the case.
RESPONDING EMERGENCIES BASIS. Emergency response includes any systematic
response to an unexpected or dangerous occurrence. The goal of an emergency
response procedure is to mitigate the impact of the event on people and the
environment.
INTERVENTION PROGRAM. An intervention program is a treatment method used by
the mental health community, and utilized in a number of ways to better the situation of
individuals who have become dependent on various substances or activities.

Hypothesis

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This section provides a review of related material that is pertinent to the

comprehension and clarity of the topic under consideration. These are based on the

findings of several studies relating to this present study.

Foreign Studies

The threat of fire disasters is always present, and it is important that people are

aware of how to properly respond in order to lessen loss of property, injuries and

deaths. This is especially true for learners in schools (Marion & Maingi, 2010). Schools

should have emergency preparedness plans to guide students to safety. According to

Makhanu (2009) fire is one of the commonest disasters in learning institutions in Kenya.

Like any other disaster, whenever it happens, it causes a serious disruption of the

functioning of the institutions since it results into widespread human, material, economic

or even environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected institutions to

cope using their own resources. Although a fire disaster need not necessarily reach

catastrophic proportions, it does present some of the characteristic aspects of a disaster

because of the highly destructive action of fire and of the considerable number of

victims (UNISDR, 2007). The surviving casualties often have mainly serious and

extensive burns requiring immediate rescue procedures that cannot always be provided

by local resources. Preparedness planning is to ensure a rapid and efficient action when

disaster occurs, taking into consideration the local disaster management system and

adjusting it according to the local condition. The school ought to prepare human

resource, facility, infrastructure and financial support for disaster management to ensure

the school’s disaster preparedness (Kukali, 2009). 2 Resource mobilization is based on

the capacity of school and school stakeholders. The mobilization should be open for

other stakeholders to take part. Shaw (2002) observes that international efforts have

been made on promoting school safety, manuals have been written, curriculum

adjustments, guides and training materials have been distributed as well as national,
regional and international meetings have been organized by bodies such as the World

Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR). A WCDR resolved that education should

help build a culture of safety at all levels and this begins at school by mobilizing efforts

to integrate disaster preparedness infrastructures and procedures into school curricula

(UNISDR, 2007). This development has reinforced the need to work in more

collaborative, comprehensive ways in improving safety in schools. A number of

countries have developed crosssectional, national, regional or local strategies on

implementing school safety that recognize the multidimensional causes of school safety

problems and the need for preventive long term plans that encourage partnerships

between schools and other stake holders. The strategies also provide information

necessary for funding of project development and implementation, including training and

technical assistance. Disasters are worldwide phenomena that range from being highly

localized to global in scope. Regardless of their origin and classification, all disasters

have a 3 public health importance due to their potential to cause loss of lives and

livelihoods (Marion & Maingi, 2010). In 1998, a kerosene lantern overturned and killed

23 girls in a dormitory in Nigeria (Rowan, 2001). In July 2004, fire in an Indian school

killed 90 pupils because of lack of emergency doors and fire fighting equipments

(Reuters, 2004) and 21 girls in Budo boarding school in Uganda lost their lives through

arson (Mzungu, 2008). The report documenting the Indian school fire of July 2004

blames the disaster on failure to implement safety norms. The school building in this

case was overcrowded and had only one exit. There were no emergency doors or fire

fighting equipment. School fire disasters in India, are blamed on failure by authorities to

enforce safety norms. For instance, schools may stay for as long as three years without
being inspected (Reuters, 2004). The wave of fire disasters sweeping through Kenyan

schools has left many puzzled as to what exactly could be going on in schools and what

can be done to contain the situation. Several students have lost their lives to fire

incidents. Interventions to curb fires have brought to light the living conditions of

students and the disregard of government policies. In 1998, 26 girls perished in

Bombolulu secondary school when their dormitory caught fire (International Committee

of the Fourth International, 2001). Reports indicated that the dormitory was

overcrowded, doors to the dormitory were narrow and locked from the outside and the

windows were barred. There were also no fire extinguishers (Mangoa, 4 2012). In 2001,

67 students died in a night inferno at Kyanguli High School in Machakos. Eight pupils at

Asumbi Primary School died in 2012 in a fire disaster. According to a Homa Bay District

Commissioner report, the girls were locked in the dormitory. In Maranda High School a

fierce fire burnt down a dormitory (Oduor, 2012). The increasing frequency of fire

disasters in educational institutions is causing loss of lives, enormous destruction of

property, disrupting education programmes and causing a lot of concern to the public.

These incidences of fires in educational institutions are indication of poor disaster

preparedness (Kirui, et al, 2007). According to Artim (1999), the most worrying aspect is

that society has adopted a reactive rather than proactive perspective to the problem of

fire in schools; many a times, preventive measures are not put in place, but rather its

only after the disaster strikes that funds are mobilized for reconstruction of the

destroyed facilities and little psychosocial support (if any) offered to the survivors. This

has resulted in the problem recurring over and over again, thus adversely affecting the

resources’ sustainability by retarding development through reconstruction and repair

work. Nyeri Central District has also had it fair share of fire disasters. Ngunjiri (2012)

reports that fire reduced a dormitory at Giakanja Boys Secondary School to ashes and

an adjacent dormitory was also destroyed in the process as students tried to salvage

their personal belongings. Efforts to put off the fire were futile as the 5 school lacked

facilities to contain the emergency and had to await the fire engine from Nyeri

Municipality about 10 kilometres away. The Sunday night disaster was in many ways

similar to another one perpetrated by students at Nyeri High School against their

prefects on the early morning of May 24, 1999. In 2010, two boys were burnt to death in

their sleeping quarters at Endarasha Boys Secondary School dormitory in Nyeri County.

Investigations indicated they were trapped when a fire broke out as the charred remains

of the two students, lay near an exit door (Njagi, 2010). According to Otieno (2010) it is

emerging that most schools in Kenya have no capacity to handle emergencies like fire,

and are yet to even implement safety standards manual produced in 2008 by the

ministry of education. Schools in the developed countries are usually well prepared in

case of fire disasters. This is partly because they have invested in education in

emergencies. Education in emergencies was introduced in Kenya a few years ago.

However, it is not learnt in many educational institutions and it might be many years

before it is offered in all the universities in Kenya. This implies that it might take a long

time before most Kenyans learn how to be prepared in case of disasters. Despite the

many cases of fires disasters in Kenyan schools, schools in Nyeri Central District do not

seem to be well prepared in case of fire disasters. It was therefore imperative to carry

out a study on the schools’ preparedness as far as fire disasters are concerned.

According to Makhanu (2009) schools around the country have failed to emphasis on
installing fire protection equipment, alarms, and first-aid and fire fighting. Vulnerability of
schools to fire disasters is usually attributed to the following factors. Foremost, hostels
may not be of fire-resistive materials; they lack important fire protection equipment or
are not operational at the time of the fire. Such a state is hazardous and a recipe for fire
disaster. Common examples include: installed ventilators that are not in operation; exits
that are permanently locked or grilled especially windows; no installed alarm system; no
fire protection devices such as fire extinguishers and standpipes; rotten hose pipes;
hostel exit 12 doors that open inwards instead of outwards, such that in event of
emergency so many students pushing toward the door would jam it and eventually
caught up as none would escape. Also entry roads for extinguishers may be
inaccessible especially. Akali, Khabamba and Muyinga (2009) observe that little has
been done to prepare schools for fires. Only a handful of schools have fire extinguishers
in offices, laboratories, stores and kitchens and even these are not regularly serviced.
Furthermore, many public schools run on a shoe-string budget and cannot afford the
luxury of fire fighting equipment. School inspectors (QUASOs) hardly perform safety
assessment during routine checks in schools. Limited supply of water i.e. many schools
experience water shortages more often and lack hydrant points that would be effective
in putting out fires. Kumba (2008) reports that the Ministry of Education introduced new
rules to improve safety in all provincial secondary boarding schools be given between
Sh150, 000 and Sh350, 000 each to buy fire-fighting equipment. Every school was
requested by the government to set up a safety committee. However, there are many
schools which have not complied with such rules. Makhanu (2009) adds that fire fighting
equipment and other life saving devices should be generously displayed where they can
be easily spotted even when one is extremely frightened. Teachers, learners and the
subordinate staff should be routinely reminded about their existence and how to use
them. For established 13 institutions, automatic sprinkler, alarm and kitchen hood fire
protection must be installed during the reconstruction or major repairs phases. There
should be promptness in notifying the fire department for external assistance as
employees and students attempt to extinguish the fire themselves. Construction,
installation and maintenance processes, including periodic inspections should be done
in a manner to insure safety and usability of fire fighting equipment. Fire fighting
resource persons could be invited for such exercises. However, most of these activities
have not been carried out in the secondary schools in Kenya. Even the schools that
have fire extinguishers may not teach learners how to use them. Resultantly, in case of
a fire disaster, schools are still unprepared. 2.3 Adequacy of fire fighting equipment in
schools There are many schools which do not have adequate fire fighting equipment
(Shaw, 2002). Ians (2010) on a study in India discovered that as many as 1,200 schools
in the national capital, including some top privately run institutions, are flouting fire
safety norms. He said most schools seemed more interested in admitting a large
number of children instead of providing them a safe environment. He further noted that
many schools in the capital start operation with a “temporary” no objection certificate
(NOC) on the understanding that they would install the necessary equipment within one
year. However, many educational institutes never go back to the fire department for
getting a permanent NOC. While many government schools do not have basic fire-
fighting equipment, 14 many private schools have not bothered to get their facilities
certified from the fire department. Mwenga (2008) on a study to establish the safety
preparedness of secondary schools in Kyuso District, Kenya established that in this
district there are no adequate fire fighting equipments in the schools as majority, 43%
had between 1 - 5 fire fighting equipments. In addition, the number of fire fighting
equipment, fire fighting points and first aid kits were found to be un-proportional to the
size of the schools and the number of students hence inadequate to deal with any
emergency. The schools rarely trained their students on safety measures as indicated
by 44.5%, hence the students were not well-equipped with necessary training needed to
handle emergencies in the schools. In addition, the members of staff and school
matrons were not well-trained on fire fighting techniques since only 56.0% were fairly
trained. Lucheli and Masese (2009) also noted that the high cost of fire fighting
equipment has made it impossible for North Rift schools to install the kits. Though many
schools have removed grills from windows and installed double doors in dormitories,
they lack fire extinguishers. Following the 2001 fire disaster at Kyanguli in Machakos,
where 67 students lost their lives, the Government gave money to secondary schools
for safety measures. However, Lucheli and Masese (2009) observed that most schools
lacked fire extinguishers and where they were available; they were not in good working
condition. Most schools have tried to 15 meet the safety requirements, but fire
extinguishers are still a challenge. The principals in this region reported that schools
acquired fire fighting equipment from one company with Government funding, but what
the company delivered was substandard. After the Government stopped funding,
schools started single sourcing, but stringent budgets frustrated their efforts. In Nyanza,
more than 1,000 secondary and 5,000 primary schools do not have sufficient fire
fighting equipment. This shows how ill-equipped schools are to fire in case of a fire
disaster hence fire unpreparedness.

Domestic fires is the highest incidence of fire outbreak in Kumasi (GNFS, 2013). In an
attempt to address the alarming rate of fire outbreaks in Ghana, the Fire Precaution
(Premises) Regulation (2003) LI 1724 was passed to enable Ghana National Fire
Service
(GNFS) to carry out inspection of proposed and existing premises, review building plan
regarding fire safety and issuance of fire certificate. However, the law is enforced only
on
public buildings like hotels, schools, commercial buildings etc. to the neglect of
private (Amoako T, 2014, ‘Assessment of domestic fire management in Kumasi
Metropolis’, B.A (Integrated Development Studies), Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science and Technology.)

Fire safety construction and fire safety equipment installations are important systems
required for occupant safety. A principal consideration in this case is the provision of an
effective egress system that could be located at appropriate places to aid people to
safety.
The absence of these measures in multi-storey blocks leaves occupants at greater risk.
This
paper presents results of a study carried out in students' Halls of Residence at the
Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. Past and
current (Botchway E.A. & Boatemaa-Oti A, 2012, ‘An audit of the egress system in
multi-storey annexes of four halls of residence at KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana’, Journal of
Science and Technology 32, 49–60.)
The fire disaster in Gothenburg, Sweden, 1998 killing 63 and wounding 213 teenagers
was caused by arson committed by a youth from the same community. The fire was
started in the basement of an overcrowded discotheque and made, due to unfortunate
circumstances, devastating progress. The ensuing rescue work performed by other
youth, fire fighters, police and medical staff was prompt and must be seen in the light of
a very difficult situation. As a result of these orchestrated efforts and the fact that this
disaster occurred in a major city with substantial resources, all the injured were able to
be hospitalized within 2 h. The load on four local hospitals was initially severe due to the
large number of injured and the limited number of staff on night duty. The situation was
contained by relocating patients from the intensive care units to ordinary wards and by
transporting several of the most severe burn injuries by helicopter to burn units in other
parts of Sweden and to Norway. Hundreds of relatives and friends gathered at the local
hospitals. This was a new experience for the hospitals and staff, involving many positive
aspects as well as some negative aspects such as violence, threats and rumors. As a
result of the large number of injuries vast psychosocial rehabilitation program was
initiated by health care staff, religious communions, schools and the community, has
continued over the past years. Such a disaster emphasises a requirement for extensive
preparation not only in the rescue and medical services, but also in the ways and areas
to rehabilitate patients in society. (Cassuto J. & Tarnow P, 2003, ‘The discotheque fire
in Gothenburg 1998: A tragedy among teenagers’, Burns 29, 405–
416.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0305-4179(03)00074-3 [PubMed]

Consequent to many building fires not initiated from accidents but leading to big
disasters,
current fire safety provisions are demonstrated to be insufficient to protect buildings
under
big fires. Enhancement or improvement should be provided for the existing fire safety
provisions in dealing with non-accidental fires. However, it might not be necessary to
revise
the existing building codes to give additional protection against arson and terrorist
attack
fires, as not all buildings are likely to be attacked. An assessment scheme, based on
some (Chow W.K. & Hung W.Y, 2010, ‘Scheme for determining additional fire safety
provisions for tall buildings’, Journal of Applied Fire Science 19, 341–
367.) http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/AF.19.4.d

In any subject area related to the provision of safety, failure is typically the most
effective mechanism for evoking rapid reform and an introspective assessment of the
accepted operating methods and standards within a professional body. In the realm of
tall buildings the most notable failures in history, those of the WTC towers, widely
accepted as fire induced failures, have not to any significant extent affected the way
they are designed with respect to fire safety. This is clearly reflected in the surge in
numbers of Tall Buildings being constructed since 2001. The combination of the
magnitude and time-scale of the WTC investigation coupled with the absence of
meaningful guidance resulting from it strongly hints at the outdatedness of current fire
engineering practice as a discipline in the context of such advanced infrastructure. This
is further reflected in the continual shift from prescriptive to performance based design
in many parts of the world demonstrating an ever growing acceptance that these
buildings are beyond the realm of applicability of prescriptive guidance. In order for true
performance based engineering to occur however, specific performance goals need to
be established for these structures. This work seeks to highlight the critical elements of
a fire safety strategy for tall buildings and thus attempt to highlight some specific global
performance objectives. A survey of tall building fire investigations is conducted in order
to assess the effectiveness of current designs in meeting these objectives, and the
current state-of-the-art of fire safety design guidance for tall structures is also analysed
on these terms. The correct definition of the design fire for open plan compartments is
identified as the critical knowledge gap that must be addressed in order to achieve tall
building performance objectives and to provide truly innovative, robust fire safety for
these unique structures. (Cowlard A., Bittern A., Abecassis-Empis C. & Torero J, 2013,
‘Fire safety design for tall buildings’, Procedia Engineering 62, 169–
181.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2013.08.053 
Background: Preparedness for disasters and emergencies at individual, community and
organizational levels could be more effective tools in mitigating (the growing incidence)
of
disaster risk and ameliorating their impacts. That is, to play more significant roles in
disaster
risk reduction (DRR). Preparedness efforts focus on changing human behaviors in ways
that
reduce people's risk and increase their ability to cope with hazard consequences. While
preparedness initiatives have used behavioral theories to facilitate DRR, many theories
(Ejeta L.T., Ardalan A. & Paton D, 2015, ‘Application of behavioral theories to disaster
and emergency health preparedness: A systematic review’, PLoS Currents 7, n.p.)