BAGUIO CITY– The Department of Health – Cordillera encourages the public anew to have a safe celebration of the New Year and to avoid injuries due to fireworks and firecrackers.
The DOH-CAR is continuously reminding everybody particularly the children not to use any fire cracker, firework or any pyrotechnic material this holiday season and but instead use other means of merry making.
DOH-CAR Health Emergency Management staff nurse Clark Dizon said that the DOH has already monitored two firecracker related injuries, both in the province of Abra on December 24 and 26 due to the use of the implosive device “boga.”
The victims were identified as Mark Rebaula, 21, who had a contusions and redness of the eyes and Ernesto Lachica, 8 years old, who had blast burns.
Records from DOH Cordillera show that there were 63 firecracker and fireworks related injuries in 2015 all over the region. Abra had the highest with 25, Apayao with 14, Baguio City with 11, Benguet with 9, Kalinga with 2, and Mountain Province and Abra with 1 each.
The youngest patient was 3 years old and the oldest was 59 years old. Most of the victims were males and most injuries were caused by piccolo.
The health department strongly advises parents and caregivers not to allow children to use firecrackers during the holiday season The DOH reiterates the risks of injuries brought about by unsafe use of fireworks and firecrackers especially among children.
Instead of firecrackers or fire crackers, the public is encouraged to use safe merry-making instruments and alternative noise-makers such as ‘torotot’, car horns, or by playing loud music. Local government units are also urged to foster community firework display.
In the BLISTT areas, or Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay, the local government units banned the sale and use of firecrackers during the New Year celebration to avoid untoward incidents such as fires, injuries or even death.
Meanwhile, all DOH retained hospitals, and facilities nationwide are placed in a “Code White Alert” status from December 21, 2016 up to January 5, 2017. The “Code White Alert” level puts all hospital personnel on standby for deployment and augmentation as the need arises for additional medical and other services.
In case of an injury due to firecrackers, DOH advises that the wounds must be immediately washed with clean running water until all visible dirt and gunpowder residue are removed. The patient must immediately be rushed to the nearest health facility for proper medical attention./JDP/RMC- PIA CAR#
