The Fire Services Bureau (CB) announced in a statement yesterday that 222 fire incidents were recorded in the first quarter of the year.
The statement said the number of fire incidents rose by 18.72 percent year-on-year. According to the statement, 154 of the fire incidents did not require the use of a water hose.
The statement also pointed out that there were 25 more fire incidents in the first three months of this year than in the same period of last year that involved discarded unextinguished items such as cigarette ends and incense.
The bureau urged residents to exercise caution and not to burn incense improperly.
The statement said that around 113 fire incidences were caused by unattended stoves, discarded unextinguished items or engine malfunctions, which took up 50.9 percent of the first-quarter fire incidents.
Meanwhile, ambulances were called out 9,205 times between January March, down by 106 calls year-on-year.
The statement said that even though the number of times the ambulance was called had decreased, the bureau still urged residents to call an ambulance only when it’s necessary.
The statement noted that from the beginning of the year until Wednesday, the bureau handled 2,879 suspected COVID-19 cases, involving 3,650 people –1,886 males and 1,764 females.
Macau’s first COVID-19 case was confirmed on January 22 last year. So far 49 novel coronavirus cases have been confirmed by the Health Bureau. In many cases suspected COVID-19 patients are transported by the Fire Services Bureau’s ambulances from their homes to the hospital for medical examination.
The statement urged residents to continue to abide by the government’s COVID-19 preventive measures. The statement also said that residents can always phone the Health Bureau’s COVID-19 hotline 2870 0800.
Moreover, the bureau also warned residents that as the typhoon season is approaching, they should pay close attention to TV and radio news during a typhoon.
Meanwhile, the bureau reminded residents not to put too many plugs in the same socket or block adaptor as this could easily cause a fire hazard. The bureau also reminded residents to be more cautious in general when using fire.
When reporting a fire incident, residents can call 119, 120 or 2857 2222 to contact the city’s firefighters.
