DAVAO ORIENTAL—Five fire stations here are set to receive new state-of-the-art fire trucks.
Recipients of the said fire trucks, which are made from Austria, are the Municipal Fire Stations in the towns of Manay, Governor Generoso, Baganga, Lupon, and one of the sub-stations in the City of Mati—Barangay Dahican.
Provincial Fire Marshal SUPT Honee Fritz Abangan said during the Kapihan Sang Kapitolyo on October 12 at the Provincial Capitol Grand Conference Room that the procurement of fire trucks is part of the bureau’s effort to expedite response during fire incidents.
“We intensify our efforts so that we can respond faster to fire incidents because we cannot allow any delay from preventing us to save lives and salvage properties of the fire victims,” Abangan said.
We have a total of 18 fire trucks for the whole province and based on our standard ratio on the fire truck as to population, based on census 2015, we have almost 600,000 [population] so we need at least 19 fire trucks. But it was given priority that for every town there must be at least 2 fire trucks so that when one of it is defective, we can still use the other one,” said Abangan.
Aside from the new fire trucks, Abangan said they have requested the establishment of a self-sustaining refilling station, additional fire hydrants and fire alarms, and other equipment to further strengthen response.
In far-flung barangays, Abangan said they have requested the creation of fire sub-stations and further recommended to network providers to put up cell sites in isolated areas.
Warning against Grass Fire
With the looming El Niño, fire marshals here are cautioning residents against burning of agricultural waste to prevent grass fire.
Based on statistics released by the bureau, there had been a total of 45 cases of grass fires in the province from January to September 2018. Residential fire has the next highest cases on the same period with a total of 36 incidents.
City Fire Marshal SINSP Christian Cena said that while the penalty and fine are lenient in violating RA 9003, an act that prohibits agricultural waste burning, the bureau will strictly enforce the law, emphasizing its underlying cost of damage.
“El Niño season is approaching probably by the end of the fourth quarter (this year) or by the first quarter of next year. So we would like to remind the constituents of the City of Mati regarding the prohibition of burning of leaves and waste materials,” he said.
Cena said that based on their hazard mapping in the City of Mati, Barangay Dahican, although not heavily populated compared to other villages in the city, is the most hazardous to grass fire.
Other hazardous areas to fire incident are Barangays Dahican, Central, and Matiao and Bobon.
“We encourage the residents in the City of Mati to report to the BFP or the police if you know anyone who violates the law, especially those who burn waste materials near dry cogon grass,” Cena said. Photos by Rhea Shane Laureano
