645 towns have no fire stations

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo. INQUIRER file photo

Some 645 towns and cities do not have fire stations, while 666 others make do with only “old and dilapidated” fire trucks, according to Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.

Stressing the need for more fire-fighting equipment for the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Robredo said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) was speeding up the purchase of some 170 fire trucks and other necessary supplies this year.

For municipalities without a fire station, Robredo said the DILG had arranged that the city or municipal fire station nearest to them would serve as a “central fire station” responsible for responding to fires and coordinating with local officials.

“It will also be responsible for quick responses for fire prevention, suppression, investigation, and the provision of emergency and rescue services,” he said.

“We are also earmarking a significant amount of money to procure as soon as possible, this year, all the other fire-fighting equipment that you need so that you are protected while in the course of duty,” Robredo told fresh graduates of the Fire National Training Institute in Calamba, Laguna.

Robredo said he was very pleased with the decreasing number of fires in the past few months, as well as fewer damages to property caused by fire.

“At P645 million in the first quarter of 2011 alone, the total  figure is still terribly high, but it’s a marked reduction from P868 million in the same period last year,” he said in the Sept. 3 address.

“During the same period, casualties or death dropped to 10 from 30 in the first quarter of 2010, although for sure, the loss of each of those 10 lives is a tragedy felt most deeply by those who battled fire to save them,” Robredo said.

He noted that in Metro Manila alone, the number of fires dropped by 34 percent, from 1,572 incidents in the first quarter last year to only 1,040 in 2011.

Robredo said stricter and more regular inspections of buildings and establishments under the Fire Code of the Philippines had helped reduce the numbers.

Originally posted: 4:35 pm | Tuesday, September 20th, 2011