Spanish-American-inspired fire station building in Subic Bay opens

The P24.7-million Spanish-American-inspired building of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Fire Station 7 is operational. It sits on a 3,350-square-meter lot located along Sampson Road corner Dewey Avenue. | SBMA

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The P27.7-million new fire station building showcasing a Hispanic aesthetic feature was inaugurated in this free port early this week, officials said Thursday, June 23.

Rolen Paulino, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chair and administrator, said the Spanish-American-inspired building called “Fire Station No. 7” serves as the main office of the SBMA Fire department. It has jurisdiction over the former Ship Repair Facility, Naval Ship Depot, Industrial Parks, and the Central Business District area.

Paulino described the construction of the building on a 3,350-square-meter lot along Sampson Road corner Dewey Avenue as a “milestone.”

“Our firefighters are well-known, not only in Central Luzon but in the Asian Region as well. And this milestone only proves that our firefighters are committed to providing the highest standard of service,” Paulino said in a statement.

SBMA Fire Chief Ranny Magno said the proposal for the building was rejected initially because it defies the traditional design of fire stations in the country.

But Magno said it was finally approved after he insisted that the Hispanic aesthetic feature is intended to preserve the free port’s institutional memory, rich history, and heritage as a former recreation facility of the Spanish Navy and later, the United States Navy.

“We must have a sense of history. This is a former Spanish-American Naval Base,” Magno said, adding that the SBMA has always been a “show-window to the whole world” for being able to provide rescue and retrieval operations even to Japan, Taiwan, Iran, and other Asian countries.

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