Harassed and under-equipped fire officers in Catanduanes will have to wait one more year for new fire trucks to be turned over by the national government.
Last week, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) turned over 35 units of newly acquired fire trucks to selected cities and municipalities nationwide to help boost their firefighting capability during a simple ceremonial turnover ceremony at the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) National Headquarters in Quezon City.
The firetrucks, which are powered by a diesel engine equipped with an exhaust gas recirculation system, come with 4,000-liter capacity water tank, fire pump system with round the pump foam proportioning system, 200-liter foam tank, firefighting equipment, tools and accessories using appropriate fire service standards adaptable to Philippine conditions.
Of the four firetrucks allocated for Bicol region, Camarines Sur got two, Masbate and Sorsogon got one each while Catanduanes and the two other provinces got nothing.
In a press report, House Deputy Majority Leader and TGP Partylist Rep. Jose Teves Jr. said that the two fire trucks he requested from the DILG will most likely arrive in 2023.
The solon had asked for three firetrucks, but only one – for Pandan – arrived while those for Virac and Baras have yet to be realized.
The BFP Catanduanes provincial office had brought to the congressman’s attention the difficulty of immediately responding to fire incidents due to lack of fire equipment and the dilapidated condition of their existing trucks, one of which is over 40 years old.
In a statement to a radio station, Cong. Teves also proposed that existing fire stations be provided with concrete roofing in view of damage wrought time and again by typhoons, saying that government funds are wasted on frequent repairs.
The congressman made the statements in the wake of the two fires that destroyed two homes in the capital town last Oct. 15 and 16.
The first blaze consumed the small, unfinished wooden house with GI roofing owned by couple Venjo and Lalina Vargas at Moonwalk in barangay Calatagan Proper.
Fire investigators determined that the blaze, which caused P63,000 in damage, was caused by cooking fire at the dirty kitchen at the house’s rear that was left unattended.
The following day, Oct. 16, at 6:26 AM, a lit candle left on a wooden altar was blamed for the fire that reduced to a charred shell the 110-square meter, fully furnished concrete residential house owned by government retiree Salvador Gianan and his wife Hedelisa.
Damage to the property was estimated at P1.65 million, with at least two fund-raising campaigns launched on social media to provide clothes and other needs for the couple and their extended family.
Following the incidents in Virac, a total of 12 fire incidents, all but one of them razing residential houses, have occurred in the province of Catanduanes this year, compared to 21 incidents in 2021.
Six of them were reported in January when flames engulfed the houses of Alvin Bandola in Suchan, Bagamanoc on Jan. 1; Nancy Benavidez in Concepcion, Virac on Jan. 4; Efren Cajuday in Lanao, Virac on Jan. 10; and Noel Lopez in Cabugao, Bato on Jan. 12 and 16.
Two fires were recorded in February (Sandra Añonuevo’s house in Abihao, Baras, on Feb. 10 and Jude Zaldy Tanael’s store in Bagong Sirang, Baras on Feb. 17).
The Tayam residence burned down on March 28 in San Miguel, Baras, followed by the fire at the house of Helen Panti in Sto. Domingo, Virac on May 4.
Last January, the Tribune learned that an official request from BFP Catanduanes for four new fire trucks had gone unanswered since it was sent in 2019.
According to information provided by a fire officer, the four fire trucks were supposed to be for the capital town of Virac, which needs two new ones, and the municipalities of San Miguel and Bagamanoc.
Under current standards, there is supposed to be one (1) firetruck number for every 28,000 population.
Thus, Virac is entitled to at least two (2) firetrucks, with the other 10 towns to have one each.
The BFP is mandated to establish at least one (1) fire station with adequate personnel, firefighting facilities and equipment in every provincial capital, city and municipality.
Virac’s fire station has two standard firetrucks, one of which is more than 30 years old. It was reported that while all 25 fire hydrants installed in the capital town are operational but no new hydrant has been installed in the last 20 years despite the considerable increase in the town’s population and number of structures.
Under the Fire Code of the Philippines, the BFP is mandated to determine the optimal number of equipment, including fire trucks and fire hydrants, required by every local government unit for the proper delivery of fire protection services.
The same Code also mandates LGUs, in coordination with the BFP and through the water districts, to provide each community with fire hydrants and cisterns or elevated water tanks.