BFP eyes ‘elite’ teams to battle forest fires

THE GAMES Firefighters from across the country converge at Burnham Park in Baguio City on Tuesday to take part in the 8th National Fire Olympics that simulated rescue operations and putting out fires. —NEIL CLARK ONGCHANGCO

BAGUIO CITY—An elite team of firefighters may soon roam the country’s vast timberlands to battle forest fires, part of an evolving modernization program of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

Louie Puracan, BFP national director, made the announcement on Tuesday after launching this year’s National Fire Olympics at Burnham Park here.

Over a thousand delegates from fire stations across the country participated in the 8th Skills Games, including highland firefighters who have been putting out pocket fires that have bedeviled Cordillera forests since the start of the year.

Puracan told reporters that President Marcos has directed the BFP to address the forest fires not just in the Cordillera but also those in “the Sierra Madre mountain range that extends as far as Aurora province and the Cotabato forests leading toward Mt. Apo in Mindanao.”

He said that under the BFP’S P10 billion modernization program, the agency would be able to install or upgrade fire stations, including in the 120 local governments that have no fire stations; and buy ambulances and other first response services in every town and city.

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But experts are also planning the mobilization of specialized firefighter teams who are trained to combat wildfires in thick watersheds and woodlands, following a February consultation and training session with wildfire experts deployed by the United States Agency for International Development, Puracan said.

Ill-equipped

Currently, Filipino firefighters train nonstop to quell structural fires, “which is far different from battling forest fires,” he said.

In the Cordillera, 107 fires consumed vast tree cover in Benguet, Mountain Province and parts of Ifugao between January and March, according to Fire Senior Supt. Robert Pacis, BFP Cordillera director.

But because the blazes occurred in deep forestlands, Cordillera firefighters had to leave their firetrucks and hike for miles in order to dig fire lanes to prevent the fire from spreading to populated areas, he said.

A Feb. 22 report of the Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council concluded that highland fire stations were not equipped to handle wildfires, and would need devices to prevent firefighters from being trapped.

The larger blazes that consumed the vast forests in Benguet required the Philippine Air Force to fly “helibucket” operations, which involve dousing fires with water carried in specialized helicopter containers.

Puracan said BFP is pursuing a deal to secure a “fire chopper (helicopter),” to augment wildfire suppression. INQ