Firefighters may have been trained primarily to snuff out flames but they do other stuff besides. They extract crash victims from cars and rescue suicidal persons who threaten to jump off victims.
Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) officer in charge Chief Superintendent Samuel Perez made this statement on Friday as he reminded the public of the multiple roles of firefighters during the launch of Fire Prevention Month in Quezon City.
Perez raised the need to reeducate Filipinos about the diversified roles of firefighters and to get the public to trust the BFP as rescuers of emergencies other than burning buildings.
He said firefighters have the skill and equipment to save victims of freak accidents and vehicular crashes. He cited incidents when BFP members had to rappel down a building or billboard on Edsa to rescue a suicidal person.
In calamities and disasters, they also launch rescue and retrieval operations, such as in cases of death and destruction from typhoons, earthquakes and sunken ships, Perez said.
“Firefighters, whose mission is to save lives and properties, also respond to chemical leakage in CBRNE or chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive incidents,” he said.
Perez also said firefighters can respond to medical emergencies. “As workhorses, we see to it that firefighters are always there at the side of the people in the community, without them noticing it,” he said.
Under Republic Act No. 9514, or the Fire Code of the Philippines, firefighters serve as “customer relations officer, fire code fee assessor, building plans evaluator, fire safety inspector, collecting agent or officer.”
Perez said he aims to modernize the BFP through the acquisition of more fire fighting gear and fire trucks.
Citing a report from the BFP’s Intelligence and Investigation Division, Perez said a total of 8,824 fires occurred nationwide in 2011.
Of this number, 6,449 were accidental fires, 189 were intentional, 2,056 were still under investigation and 130 were of undetermined origin.
There were 866 casualties and some P4 billion worth of properties destroyed, the report said.