Towns sans fire stations

Now down to four - BFP

CORTES, Bohol, March 20 (PIA) – At 91.66 percent of Bohol towns now owning fire stations, Bohol Fire Marshal Fire Chief Inspector (FCInsp) Raul Bustaliño has all the reasons to be calm, but with building restrictions now loose as the airport transfers to Panglao, fire fighters access to tall buildings has become his concern.

Tagbilaran City, where most commercial and industrial spaces are located, have four: Old City Hall, Ubujan, Central Fire Station and a defunct Mansasa Station, while Panglao has two: Poblacion and Tawala.

However, during the recent Kapihan sa PIA marking the Fire Prevention Month in March, Inspector Bustaliño shared that after serious lobbying and with the help of local city officials, an aerial fire ladder as a high working platform for firemen would be available in Tagbilaran and nearby areas.

As scheduled, as we know, in April, fire fighting in high rise buildings in Tagbilaran would be bolstered by an aerial ladder fitted to a fire truck, Bustaliño who came to the radio forum aired live at DyTR-FM with City Fire Marshal FCinsp. Marlito Boyoro, revealed.

This too as both fire fighters bared that in Bohol, only San Miguel, Danao, Lila and Duero have yet to have their fire stations.

The good thing however is most of these towns without fire stations have already donate lots for the Bureau of Fire Protection to build on the standard fire stations and its accompanying fire trucks and manpower complement.

According to the BFP, a fire truck alone would need at least four manpower complement: a driver, a nozzle-man, a hose back up and a ground commander cum fire investigator. In other areas, it could be more, as the standard number is 7.

Working in shifts to be able to respond to alarms, BFP unfortunately does not just have firefighting as their responsibilities.

During the pandemic, your BFP have been primarily tasked to do the disinfection duties and safety precautionary measures through decontamination of arriving cargoes and checking of body temperature to arriving residents, APORs and non APORS.

Suffering from severe depletion of personnel with 55 of its officers pulled out for training Bohol BFP heavily relies on the roles played by its auxiliary fire fighters and volunteer firefighters organized by malls, large companies in Bohol.

They mentioned Alturas, Bohol Quality, Coca Cola and Philippine Mining and Sinter Corporation as having reliable fire brigades and equipment support that stretches the tactical capability of local firefighters.

Even then, the fire chief said that fire prevention is still largely the task of everyone.

“Sa pag-iwas ng sunog, hindi ka nag-iisa,” he brought to the air the national theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Month.

And to make sure the BFP does not have to face the problem of fire all alone, their program on Ligtas na Pamayanan, is now currently operational.

“All fire stations across Bohol have been directed to visit every barangay within the month, and that there, they conduct public information campaigns reminding communities fire-safety tips and fire-accident prevention, to keep the consciousness high,” reports Bustaliño.

In these barangay visits, firefighters bring important reminders to communities as well as immerse our firefighters to local situations where they can be familiar with the vicinity and the people for faster and more efficient alarm-response. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

FIRE STATION 44 AND COUNTING. Bureau of Fire Protection Provincial Marshal FCInspector Raul Bustaliño and Garcia Hernandez Mayor Tita Gallentes stand to witness the rites during the groundbreaking ceremonies for Garcia Hernandez Fire Station, which are among the stations to be constructed this year. (PIABohol)

HOSE AT FAULT? The flurry of fire-fighting leaves a nasty tangle of hoses, even as fire investigators try to investigate who is at fault when fires like this break out. (PIABohol)