The 48 fire safety inspectors of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Bacolod City are now equipped with body-worn cameras (BWCs) during inspections.
As of Thursday, Jan. 21, the Bacolod City Fire Station inspectors have been provided with an initial 24 units of BWCs.
“The requirement is 1:1. Additional units will be provided later. The BWCs are issued at the central fire station,” said Fire Officer 2 Paul Servano, public information officer of BFP-Bacolod.
In a statement, the BFP-Bacolod said that in compliance with the directive from the BFP national headquarters, the BWCs will be used during fire safety inspections to further promote transparency, accountability and professionalism in the enforcement of the Fire Code of the Philippines.
“This initiative strengthens public trust and ensures that inspection activities are properly documented, in line with the BFP’s commitment to good governance and quality public service,” it added.
The use of BWCs is mandatory during inspections and these are required for regular fire safety inspections, such as during the application for a business or occupancy permit, re-inspections for compliance verification, inspections during building construction, and complaint-based inspections.
Earlier this week, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) ordered the BFP to implement the mandatory use of BWCs during fire safety inspections nationwide.
According to the DILG, fire safety inspections are recorded from the issuance of the body-worn camera at the station through travel, inspection, discussion of findings and turnover to the station custodian.
It added that “upon arrival at an establishment, the fire safety enforcer states on video their name and rank, location, date and time, nature of inspection, and the name of the establishment.”
The owner or representative is informed that the inspection is being recorded and may also take their own video.
Establishment owners may request a copy of the inspection video in writing within seven working days from the inspection date through the concerned city or municipal fire marshal.*
[sibwp_form id=1]