Robredo orders BFP to conduct safety inspections in fireworks factories

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo

MANILA, Philippines – Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo on Tuesday issued a directive to the Bureau of Fire Protection to conduct safety inspections on establishments involved in making, distributing and selling fireworks.

Robredo, in a directive to BFP Chief Samuel Perez ahead of New Year, tasked the acting fire chief to send to fireworks establishments and stores his men to conduct inspections.

“The fire bureau should ensure that these establishments are selling and manufacturing firecracker products that were duly approved by the proper authorities to ensure the safety of the public,” said the DILG secretary.

A five-year-old boy died when the fireworks they bought for the New Year exploded inside the tricycle his father drove Monday in Norzagaray town, Bulacan.

Meanwhile, the DILG recalled two other explosions in fireworks factories in Bulacan in 2010. No one was injured in the Baliuag blast but the blast in Angat killed one person and injured eight others.

BFP Records in 2010 showed that some 50 fires in the country were caused by firecrackers. The data indicated a 13 percent increase from the 2009 figures.