DILG says cities and towns in the country are short of fire trucks

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said towns and cities in the Philippines are facing a shortage of fire trucks.

DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said there are only 2,351 fire trucks in various cities and municipalities across the country when the ideal number of fire trucks should be 6,387.

“Ang ideal number ng fire truck sa bansa should be 6,387 ngunit meron lang po tayong 2,351 as of this year, kailangan po tayong magprocure ng additional fire trucks,” Malaya said over radio station dzMM on Wednesday.

Malaya assured that the procurement of the needed additional fire trucks will be done above board.

“Siguro naman napapansin ng ating mga kababayan na wala pong kontrobersya under the administration sa mga procurement ng whether patrol vehicles or fire trucks. Maayos ang bidding namin, we adhere with procurement law,” Malaya said.

Despite the decrease in the number of fire incidents in the first two months of this year, fire-related deaths went up significantly, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

The BFP recorded 348 fire incidents in January and February this year as compared to the 2,577 cases recorded in the same period last year.

In January and February of this year, 67 people lost their lives in fires as compared to the more than 20 deaths recorded in the same period last year. /muf

READ: Fewer fires in Jan-Feb 2019, but more deaths recorded – BFP

READ: Fire incidents drop by nearly 350 in first 2 months of 2019 — BFP