The Philippines is a dangerous country. While the Department of Tourism and nationalists may balk the proof is in the house construction. Every house in the Philippines is surrounded by a wall topped with barbed wire or glass. Many have houses have CCTV cameras recording the area. But, just in case robbers make it past the wall and the CCTV, every house has grills on the windows including second floor windows. It's an incredibly dangerous set up especially if there was a fire and one needed to jump out.
Recently an 80-year-old couple was burned to death inside their home because all the windows had grills.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2025/06/30/octogenarian-couple-killed-in-bacolod-fire |
An elderly couple was killed in a fire that razed their two-story house in Barangay Taculing here before dawn on Monday, June 30.The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Bacolod identified the fatalities as Edison, 80, and his wife Emelyn, 81.Fire Supt. Jenny Mae Masip, city fire marshal, said the fire broke out from the garage of the couple’s house at 4:14 a.m.Masip said Edison was bedridden and staying in the living room while his wife was staying on the second floor.She said Emelyn’s body was found near the kitchen on the ground floor, indicating her attempt to escape from the burning house.But since the house was covered with grills, there is a possibility that they were trapped, Masip said.Masip said the couple was alone when the fire broke out, as their helper would usually visit them during the day.The fire totally destroyed the couple’s house and damage to property was estimated at P3 million. Fire out was declared at 4:18 a.m.Cause of the fire is being investigated by arson investigators.
Now, it's not clear what caused the fire or why the couple was unable to get out. But the fact that Fire Supt. Jenny Mae Masip herself brought up the grills is very telling. It's high time houses are properly inspected by the fire department and all grills, especially those on second floor windows, are removed. People's lives are at risk.
But the BFP has previously warned of the dangers of grills on windows. It seems their warnings of gone unheeded.
Here is a story from 2020.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1299286/woman-son-dead-in-fire-after-futile-cry-for-help-through-grilled-window |
A 21-year-old woman and her two-year-old son were found dead inside a house gutted by fire at the village of San Jose here shortly after midnight on Monday (June 29).
Insp. Dionisio Cayudong, city fire marshal, said Fitty Mae Paderanga and her son, Elwood, were last seen crying for help through the window of their house, which had grills that prevented them from coming out during the fire.
Police said a certain Manolo Quiñones owned the house. Residents were able to evacuate during the fire except for Paderanga and her son, who were trapped inside.
Cayudong said Fitty Mae was the daughter of the Quiñones family’s house help and were living with Fitty Mae’s mother.
Witnesses said they saw Fitty Mae crying for help from the grilled windows.
Rescuers failed to reach the victims as a bigger fire engulfed all the entry areas leading to the house where Fitty Mae and her son were trapped.
Cayudong said investigators were looking into the cause of the fire.
Here is a warning from 2011.
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| https://www.philstar.com/cebu-lifestyle/2011/03/14/665760/dangers-grilled-windows-gas-handling |
FO1 Wendell Villanueva, public information officer of the Provincial Fire Protection Office, warns house owners of the dangers of iron-grilled or barricaded windows.
“House owners who install grills in their windows in order to prevent burglars and other culprits from entering into their house could have also, in a way, put their lives in danger,” he expressed in an interview last March 2, a day after the opening program to mark the observance of Fire Prevention Month.
“Every opening that is grilled or barricaded,” he said citing documents, “offers false security.”
“Life is more precious than property and fire does not spare life,” he added. “The human flesh is so frail that it can even succumb to smoke when trapped by it.”
Here are tips he shared based on “How to Prevent Fire (Safety Measures and Precautions)” book:
• If one should install iron grills on his windows, he should not fail to consider the danger he is going to face in case of fire or other emergency. It would be wise to construct two stairways at the opposite parts of the house whenever possible. At the ground floor, an exit door should never be nailed closed or obstructed by hardly movable heavy objects.
• If one should install grill on his windows, he must provide at least two sufficient openings or two un-grilled windows at opposite sides as far as possible in each floor and opening into an appropriate space for a safe drop.
• One prevalent practice of house owner that defeats the requirement of openings for fire exit purposes is the use of grills that can be opened and closed with padlocks. By padlocking the grill frames, the window is virtually closed. In case of emergency, it is probable that the one trapped in the house may panic and forget where the key is, or the flame might have blocked his way to where the key is kept. It is therefore, wiser to provide merely shutters that can be bolted but can easily be opened in case the windows are to be used for emergency exit.
Here is a report from 2015 where the Manaue City Fire Department called grills on windows a "mortal sin."
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| https://www.sunstar.com.ph/more-articles/buildings-checked-for-fire-safety-compliance |
INSPECTORS from the Mandaue City Government and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) will check if all commercial, industrial and government buildings in the city have evacuation plans.
Felix Suico, head of City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), said they will start their inspection next month.
The City and the BFP vowed to strengthen monitoring of fire safety in buildings, especially factories, following the fire that killed dozens of factory workers in Valenzuela City in Luzon.
“We will force building owners to make an evacuation plan, as mandated by the City Building Code,” Suico said in a press conference organized yesterday by the Mandaue City Public Information Office.
Senior Insp. Joel Abarquez, city fire marshall, said BFP inspectors have checked 184 industrial establishments so far, out of about 1,000.
“Based on the reports, the buildings inspected complied with fire safety rules,” he said.
But Abarquez said he will review the reports submitted by the inspectors, and that he will inspect the establishments himself if he is not satisfied with the reports.
One of the features inspectors check in the buildings is the fire exit.
Abarquez said they make sure fire exit areas are cleared of objects that block traffic during emergencies.
“In some establishments, fire exit areas were turned into storage areas. We warn owners and occupants to rid their fire exit areas of any obstruction,” he said.
He also said that covering windows with steel grills is a “mortal sin”.
“It is a violation of the Fire Safety Code. Putting window grills may secure the things inside the building, but it will not secure the occupants during a fire,” he said.
Window grills reportedly prevented workers of a slipper factory in Valenzuela City from escaping the fire last May 13. At least 73 were killed in the fire.
Abarquez said they always instruct owners of buildings with window grills to remove these.
“Some put the grills back after we issue them permit,” he said.
Abarquez said they only have less than 20 fire safety inspectors in Mandaue City, and that adding more is not easy because of the required training.
Some people replace the grills after they have been issued a permit. That is "a mortal sin." But then again there is a lot of crime in the Philippines. It's a double-edged sword. Either have no grills and risk being burglarized or have grills and risk killing people if a fire breaks out.
