MORE FIRE STATIONS. The Bureau of Fire Protection 8’s (Eastern Visayas) office in Tacloban City. The bureau on Friday (Feb. 21, 2020) said at least 23 towns in the region still lack firefighter facilities and manpower. (Photo courtesy of BFP)
TACLOBAN CITY – At least 23 towns in Eastern Visayas still lack firefighting facilities and manpower, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) reported on Friday.
Senior Supt. Renato Marcial, BFP 8 (Eastern Visayas) director, said in a press briefing that the programming of the construction of fire station buildings and the procurement of equipment per local government unit (LGU) depend on the national headquarters.
“Of course, we want it as soon as possible. But now, it is already (in) the pipeline through the modernization program of the national government, wherein these towns are the priority,” he said, adding that a PHP10-billion budget is set aside to equip all LGUs with the necessary firefighting facilities.
Samar province has the most number of areas without fire stations and fire trucks. These are the towns of Almagro, Daram, San Jose de Buan, Sto Niño, Tagapul-an, Talalora, and Zumarraga.
In Northern Samar, these are the towns of Biri, Bobon, Lapinig, Rosario, San Vicente, and Victoria, and in Eastern Samar, the towns of Lorente, Maydolong, Mercedes, and San Julian.
Marcial said even the more accessible town of McArthur in Leyte has no fire station. La Paz, also in Leyte, has a fire station building but no fire truck, according to BFP records.
In Biliran province only Maripipi has no firefighting facility, the same for the Southern Leyte towns of Anahawan, Padre Burgos, and Pintuyan.
This, he said, is already a big improvement compared to 2015 where 56 areas in the region lacked fire stations and trucks.
Procurement concerns in the past had been the setback in BFP's goal to establish a fire station, provide a fire truck, and at least four personnel in every town.
Marcial added that under the law, the LGU shall donate at least 400 square meters of accessible land where the fire station would be erected.
“If you will notice, these towns belong to a fourth- or fifth-class level. Some of them have already provided an area in their respective locality. However, it does not necessarily mean that we will automatically proceed with the construction,” he said.
Marcial explained that there are requirements they need to comply with, such as the accessibility of the location and clearance from the Mines and Geoscience Bureau before endorsement to the national headquarters.
As of now, these LGUs only have a fire prevention officer tasked to do a fire safety inspection of establishments.
He said the BFP’s “Oplan Ligtas na Pamayanan” has been concentrated in far-flung districts and towns with no firefighting facilities, capacitating volunteer firefighters who will act as force multipliers in fire protection-related activities in villages.
“The best defense against fire is awareness and empowerment of people on how to prevent such incidents in their own houses and in the community. As much as possible, we do not want to utilize these facilities and equipment, in a sense that no fire incident will happen,” Marcial said.
In Eastern Visayas, a total of 306 fire incidents were recorded last year. (PNA)
