More fire trucks, stations needed for Mandaue City

THE Bureau of Fire Protection is urging the Mandaue city government to provide firetrucks and firefighting teams for the city’s 24 barangays.

This is more effective as community members are usually the first responders to fire incidents, said SFO3 Sherwin Porcia, chief of the Fire Safety Enforcement Section of the Mandaue City Fire Station.

“I am encouraing the barangay captains to procure a firetruck, even just a mini tanker, because they are the first responders,” Porcia said.

So far, only barangays Tipolo, Paknaan and Opao have their own fire trucks.

The Action Emergency and Rescue Team (ACERT) has a fire sub-station in barangay Basak.

Mandaue City has the second highest number of fire incidents next to Cebu City in Central Visayas with 51 fires reported in 2012 based on data from the BFP regional office.

Porcia said Mandaue City needs at least three fire sub-stations to support the main fire station in barangay Centro in the Mandaue Reclamation Area.

He said the ideal location of the fire sub station would be in barangays Subangdaku, Banilad and Cabancalan.

As part of its prevention awareness campaign, Porcia said they do fire safety seminars in the barangays.