March 12, 2024
Humanity class focuses on fire safety and prevention
By Joy Rojas
Fires are so rampant in the Philippines (at least 30 fires were reported by the Bureau of Fire Protection in the first 11 days of 2024), some people have the great misfortune of experiencing this avoidable disaster twice.
Now 21, Tzu Chi scholar Mae Angeline Germones was in third grade when a fire broke out in her neighborhood in Manresa, Quezon City. “My father picked me up from school,” says the third year Early Childhood Education major from Philippine Normal University. “When we got home, everything was gone. There was no point in attempting to save our things.”
Her family would start from scratch again a few days after New Year 2019. Neighbors at the back of their home left their cooking unattended, resulting in a fast-spreading blaze that jolted everyone from their sleep. In her panic, Mae Angeline took off with whatever she could grab in the dark. “I tried to go back for my bag of school projects,” she said. “But the place was too crowded with people.”
Traumatized by both incidents, she cannot light a match or hear a firetruck siren without feeling fear or anxiety.
Although a fire in 2011 spared the home of Tzu Chi scholar Christine Sindayen, it was a fire last August that reduced her home in Visayas Avenue, Quezon City, to ashes. Sensing that something was about to go wrong as she and her family prepared to go to bed one night, she maintained composure even after she heard someone scream “Fire!” and her older sister and mother began to cry.
“School had just begun, so I gathered the school supplies that my sister had just bought. I also collected her medical records because she was due for surgery,” says the 17-year-old Grade 11 student at Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College. When her asthmatic father tried to gather as many of their belongings as he could, she simply told him to leave everything behind.
As calm as Christine was during the blaze, it’s the cause of the fire—a candle left by a drug addict—that makes her emotional. “It’s so annoying,” she says in tears. “Because of their actions, so many lives were affected. When you see what’s left of your home, you feel so discouraged. My father was sick at the time, and this had to happen.”
Stories like these underscore the relevance of disaster preparedness, the theme of the March 10 Humanity class for Tzu Chi scholars held at the Jing Si Auditorium of Buddhist Tzu Chi Campus, Sta. Mesa, Manila. As March has been designated Fire Prevention Month by Presidential Proclamation No. 115-A, Tzu Chi volunteer and Chinatown Volunteers firefighter Lyndon Yu gave an informative discussion on fire safety awareness.
In attendance were 341 scholars who learned about the science of fire, the common causes of fire in the Philippines (smoking, followed by unattended open flames from cooking and electronic ignitions like cellphone charging), and practical tips on how to manage, control, and prevent fires.
The lecture ended outside the auditorium with a simulated fire training exercise, wherein scholars, parents, and Tzu Chi volunteers took turns putting out a controlled fire using a wet blanket and a fire extinguisher. Firefighters from Chinatown Volunteers were on hand to ensure the safety of the group during the activity.
“Nobody wants to face a fire but it’s something we have to experience so we know what to do,” says Lyndon of the importance of the exercise.
For Mae Angeline and Christine, the Humanity class was a reminder of our responsibility to look after our home and community. “As individuals, we have to take care of our environment and think carefully whether our actions can cause disasters,” says Mae Angeline.
“There’s something Brother Lyndon said: that no matter how careful we are, we cannot expect the same of the people around us. There are still some people who are careless and neglectful,” said Christine. “I hope our community leaders can advise these members with the proper information.”
From Lyndon’s many years as a volunteer firefighter, the most important thing to remember in case of a fire is this: “Don’t panic. Your panic will eat you alive, not just the fire.”
Fire prevention and safety was also the theme of the March 10 Humanity classes in Pampanga, Bicol, Iloilo, Davao, and Zamboanga. Tzu Chi scholars in Palo, Leyte, and residents of Tzu Chi Great Love Village will attend their own fire prevention and safety talk on March 24.
Tzu Chi volunteer and Chinatown Volunteers firefighter Lyndon Yu gives a comprehensive lecture and simulated exercise on fire safety and prevention for the March 10 Humanity class of Tzu Chi scholars in Buddhist Tzu Chi Campus, Sta. Mesa, Manila. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
In Manila, 341 Tzu Chi scholars and their parents ask questions and share their encounters with fire. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
In Manila, 341 Tzu Chi scholars and their parents ask questions and share their encounters with fire. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
In Manila, 341 Tzu Chi scholars and their parents ask questions and share their encounters with fire. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
In Manila, 341 Tzu Chi scholars and their parents ask questions and share their encounters with fire. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
In Manila, 341 Tzu Chi scholars and their parents ask questions and share their encounters with fire. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
Tzu Chi scholars and their parents participate in a simulated fire training exercise. Here, they use a wet blanket to extinguish fire from a gas tank. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
Tzu Chi scholars and their parents participate in a simulated fire training exercise. Here, they use a wet blanket to extinguish fire from a gas tank. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
Tzu Chi scholars and their parents participate in a simulated fire training exercise. Here, they use a wet blanket to extinguish fire from a gas tank. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
A Tzu Chi volunteer expresses thanks to a fireman for helping her put out a fire from a gas tank. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
When using a fire extinguisher, remember to PASS: Pull the pin, aim the nozzle, squeeze the handle, and sweep the extinguisher from side to side, aiming at the base of the fire. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
When using a fire extinguisher, remember to PASS: Pull the pin, aim the nozzle, squeeze the handle, and sweep the extinguisher from side to side, aiming at the base of the fire. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
“As individuals, we have to take care of our environment and think carefully whether our actions can cause disasters,” says Mae Angeline Germones. At 21, she experienced fire twice in her life: the first time as a third-grader, the second time shortly after New Year 2019. 【Photo by Jeaneal Dando】
Christine Sindayen still tears up at the thought that a fire that destroyed her home last August was caused by a candle left unattended by a drug addict. “No matter how careful we are, we cannot expect the same of the people around us. There are still some people who are careless and neglectful,” said Christine. “I hope our community leaders can advise these members with the proper information.” 【Photo by Jeaneal Dando】
Tzu Chi volunteer and longtime firefighter Lyndon Yu accepts a certificate of appreciation for leading a lecture and simulated fire training exercise during the March 10 Humanity class for Tzu Chi scholars. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
Chinatown Volunteers firefighter Elmo Agapito, Stanley Flojo, Jovan Peralta, and Tyrone King join Tzu Chi volunteer and Humanity class guest speaker Lyndon Yu in the simulated fire training exercise. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
In Tzu Chi Bicol, volunteer firefighters were invited to give a lecture on fire prevention and safety to 40 scholars. 【Photo by Tzu Chi Bicol】
Twenty-seven Tzu Chi scholars in Pampanga attended the Humanity class on disaster preparedness. 【Photo by Tzu Chi Pampanga】
Tzu Chi Zamboanga organized its own disaster preparedness Humanity class for 26 scholars. 【Photo by Tzu Chi Zamboanga】
A guest speaker teaches Tzu Chi Iloilo scholars the proper way to wrap a head wound in Humanity class on disaster preparedness. Forty scholars attended the Humanity class.【Photo by Tzu Chi Iloilo】
Thirty-two Scholars in Tzu Chi Davao experience their own simulated fire training exercise with assistance from a local fire volunteer group. 【Photo by Tzu Chi Davao】