NEW FIRETRUCKS. The Bureau of Fire Protection-Iloilo City receives two firetruck donations from the city government on Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. (Photo by Pearl G. Lena)
ILOILO CITY -- The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) here on Monday received two additional fire trucks from the city government, boosting its capability to respond to emergency cases, especially in places where access is limited.
The two new grants brought to five the total of fire truck donations of the city government to the local BFP.
Mayor Jose Espinosa III, in an interview during the turnover, said the fire trucks cost more or less PHP5 million which was sourced from the city’s close to PHP100-million disaster risk reduction fund.
“We would like our fire service station to be properly capacitated to combat fires, especially in areas that could not be penetrated by bigger fire trucks,” he said.
"We will determine if there are still available funds, so more equipment and facilities will be provided to emergency responders," he added.
One of the two new fire trucks has a water capacity of 750 liters. The other is smaller, with a 500-liter capacity, which “could penetrate smaller roads that could not be accessed by our bigger fire trucks," said Senior Fire Officer 3 Aquilino Sampiano, BFP-Iloilo City chief of operations.
"They will be fed by our tanker,” he added.
Data from the Iloilo City Planning and Development Office showed that 83 percent or 150 of Iloilo City’s 180 barangays are fire-prone.
The recent fire incident that occurred in this city’s Jaro district claimed three lives, apart from causing damage to properties.
In previous interviews, BFP-Iloilo City Fire Marshall Christopher Regencia relayed the difficulty in entering narrow roads as one of the reasons for the delay in putting out the blaze.
With the latest donations from the city government, the BFP here now has 19 fire trucks, including its own acquisitions. (PNA)
