Monday, March 25, 2024

4 injured in fireworks factory blast in Bukidnon

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Dec. 30, 2023) – Four individuals – two men and two women – sustained second-and third-degree burns in an alleged explosion in a fireworks factory in Balangay 9, Barangay Poblacion, Quezon, Bukidnon, on Friday, December 29

The victims were taken to the Simbulan Hospital in the neighboring municipality of Don Carlos, Bukidnon, and are in stable condition, the Bukidnon Police Provincial Office said.

Initial investigation said that the victims were allegedly engaged in the production of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices prior to the explosion. The assistance of the Explosive Ordnance
Disposal was needed as authorities wanted to conduct an in-depth investigation and assess the legality of the establishment.

Quezon police Chief Major Noel Cano said they are still waiting for verification from the Firearms and Explosives Office at the Police Regional Office-10 to determine if the establishment is registered to produce firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices.

“If they are not registered, we will check the legal remedy or legal action that we can take\ against them so that the victims can benefit,” Cano told the Manila Bulletin on Saturday, December 30.

Cano added that the victims were manufacturing fireworks that will allegedly be used for the New Year countdown of the local government unit of Quezon. He said they are looking into this as the fireworks should be ordered and they should not be manufacturing them.

The EOD, together with the Bureau of Fire Protection, has cleared the area of possible hazardous materials. No houses were affected as the area is isolated.

The Department of Health-Northern Mindanao (DOH-10) has recorded nine cases of firecracker-related injuries in the region as of December 29 – three cases each from Bukidnon and this city, two from Misamis Occidental, and one from Iligan City.

The agency recorded 10 cases of firecracker-related incidents from December 21 to January 6 last year.

Cases in Quezon, Bukidnon, have yet to be included since they still need to be validated by the reporting unit, said DOH-10 officer-in-charge Dr. Ellenietta Herunaidna Maria Victoria Gamolo in a text message on Saturday.

On December 12, the DOH-10 released a memorandum to all its personnel, including development management officers, human resources for health, contract of service personnel, DOH hospitals, medical health centers, and other health agencies to implement Code White Alert from December 21 to January 6, for the observance of the Yuletide season and Fireworks Related Injury (FWRI) surveillance, including firecracker-related tetanus cases, until January 21.

Under Code White Alert, DOH-10 response teams and committees “shall be on standby, on-call, and report to the office immediately in case of any emergency situation.”

As part of the safety precautions to ensure that no illicit firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials are supplied to the public, especially to youngsters, random inspections in markets and other locations will be strictly enforced, the Bukidnon police said in a statement on Saturday. (Frank Dick Rosete/Manila Bulletin)

DOH-10 records 5 fireworks-related injury

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Jan. 10, 2022/PIA) – Department of Health Center for Health Development Northern Mindanao (DOHCHDNM) reported in Talakayan sa PIA, media forum that they ended their code white alert on monitoring firecracker-related injuries on January 5 which tallied five injuries, four from fireworks and one from a stray bullet.

With the end of the alert code, DOH-10 Non-communicable Disease Cluster Head Dr. Tristan Jediah Labitad shared that through collaboration and continuous advocacy to avoid using firecrackers and fireworks during New Year’s Eve bore positive results in the reduction of fireworks-related injuries this year.

“We ended our code white alert on the monitoring of fireworks-related injuries on January 5. And we have recorded five victims of fireworks and one out of five fell victims to stray bullets. Compared to last year, we recorded 6; then now 5, so somehow our campaign and advocacy to the people not to use fireworks in welcoming the new year and even Christmas is effective,” said Labitad.

“We could say that for the longest time that we advocate [against the use of fireworks] including in the previous episodes of Talakayan sa PIA that we had, that the mindset of the public in welcoming the new year had changed and they modified their tradition in welcoming the new year and Christmas,” he added.