THE cost of damage to properties that were destroyed by fires within the month of March this year has reportedly exceeded the combined damage recorded in the past three years.This was what officials of the Cebu City Fire Office (CCFO) disclosed to reporters on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, or just three days before this year’s Fire Prevention Month formally ends.SFO2 Wendell Villanueva, CCFO spokesperson, said for March alone this year, 19 fires occurred in the city with a total damage of P52.8 million.In 2019, the CCFO recorded 70 fire incidents with damage at P1.8 million, 23 fires in 2020 with P1.4 million in damage and 18 fires in 2021 with P7.4 million in damage.The CCFO culminated the Fire Prevention Month with a simulation exercise or fire drill in one of the high-rise buildings at the Cebu Business Park on Tuesday.Villanueva said the drill was part of their preparations for fire incidents in tall structures.“Challenge man gud ni kay ang Cebu City, grabe ang pag-sulbong sa mga high-rise buildings unya nakita sa CCFO nga kon masugamak na ta ug real-life situation, in place na bitaw ang atong pag-responde (This is our challenge since there are now a lot of high-rise buildings in Cebu City and CCFO sees that when we come across a real-life situation, our response is already in place),” Villanueva said.Villanueva also said that through the simulation exercise, the working condition of the firefighting equipment can also be checked since these are seldom used.