WHEREAS, destructive and. dangerous fires occur frequently in some sections of the country, rendering people homeless and destitute; and

WHEREAS, the planning and study of efficient and modern methods of preventing and fighting fires are necessary to insure the safety of the people and the protection of their properties;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Elpidio Quirino, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby create a Fire Prevention Board composed of the following:

The Secretary of the Interior

General Chairman

GROUP ONE (GOVERNMENT)

The Undersecretary of the Interior	Group Chairman
A representative of the Department of Public Works and Communications to be designated by the Secretary thereof	Member
A representative of the Department of Education to be designated by the Secretary thereof	Member
A representative of the Department of Commerce and Industry to be designated by the Secretary thereof	Member

GROUP TWO (PROFESSIONAL)

The Chief of the Manila Fire -Department	Group Chairman
A fire fighting expert from the Manila Fire Department to be designated by the Chief thereof	Member
A provincial fire fighting expert to be designated by the Group Chairman	Member
A fire marshal, civilian or military, to be designated by the Group Chairman	Member

GROUP THREE (SAFETY)

The Executive Director, Philippine Safety Council	Group Chairman
The Chairman, Advisory Safety Council to the Secretary of Labor	Member
The Chief of Safety Services, Philippine National Red Cross	Member
A representative of fire fighting equipmentdistributors to be designated by the Group Chairman	Member

GROUP FOUR (FIRE INSURANCE)

The Chairman, Manila Fire Insurance Association	Group Chairman
The Manager, American Foreign Insurance Association	Member
A representative of a local fire insurance firm to be designated by the Group Chairman	Member
The Manager, American International Underwriters (Philippines)	Member

GROUP FIVE (CIVIC)

The President, Philippine Chamber of Commerce	Group Chairman
The President, Chinese Chamber of Commerce	Member
The President, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines	Member
The President, National Federation of Women ™s Clubs of the Philippines	Member

The Board which shall meet at the call of the General Chairman shall have the following duties:

(a)	To investigate the origin and cause of fires;
(b)	To study ways and means of preventing fires;
(c)	To study suitable fire-fighting plans and facilities;
(d)	To arouse the inhabitants of the Philippines to the necessity of combating and preventing fires by appealing to their sense of individual responsibility through the newspapers, radio, posters, or other means of dissemination;
(e)	To cooperate with the authorities concerned in the adoption of such measures as may be necessary for the effective supervision and regulation of the manufacture, distribution, storage, and possession of petroleum, gas, acetylene dynamite, gunpowder, explosives, blasting supplies, or ingredients thereof, and other highly combustible matter;
(f)	To cause the inspection of factory buildings and other structures which are considered fire hazards and recommend to the proper authorities their removal or their remodelling so as to provide sufficient protection against fire;
(g)	To encourage the observance in. every municipality and chartered city of Fire Prevention Week proclaimed in Proclamation No. 248, dated January 20, 1938; and
(h)	To submit from time to time to the President of the Philippines its recommendations on fire fighting and prevention.

The General Chairman may also call the group chairmen to a meeting from time to time.

The groups shall meet at the call of their respective chairmen.

All officers and employees of the different Departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities of the National Government and those of the provinces, cities, municipalities and other political subdivisions are hereby enjoined to cooperate with the Board in the performance of its functions and, with the approval of the corresponding Head of Department, shall, when necessary, render such service as the Board may assign to them.

Done in the City of Manila, this 30th day of August, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-nine, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the fourth.

(SGD.) ELPIDIO QUIRINO
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(SGD.) TEODORO EVANGELISTA
Executive Secretary