Don’t wait for fire truck, use portable water pump, say

By March 22, 2021Inside News, News

TO SERVE ISLAND VILLAGES

IN addition to the possible provision of a fire boat to serve island villages in Dagupan City, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in the city recommended a more doable alternative in case fire breaks out in their areas.

F/Chief Inspector Bryan Pocyao, fire marshal of Dagupan, suggested to the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) the procurement and/or provision of portable water pumps with long hoses that will deliver water from adjacent rivers to the fire site.

Pocyao told the virtual session of the SP on. March 16, that the purchase by the city government of a water pump, equipped with a high-power generator set could be a wise investment.

He acknowledged that the fire boat being requested by the SP from the national BFP through the Department of the Interior and Local Government will be a big help to the island barangays but portable water pumps, which are much cheaper, can already serve as quick response that they need.

But considering scarce resources during pandemic, the DILG may not be able to immediately respond to this need, Pocyao said.

Of the five island barangays of Dagupan, only Lomboy is totally surrounded by water. Barangays Carael, Calmay, Pugaro and Salapingao are accessible by land through the town of Binmaley, which are some 10 kilometers away from the Dagupan City proper.

Pocyao said that in case of fire in the four island barangays, BFP Dagupan usually calls on BFP Lingayen to first respond to the fires in Carael, Calmay, Pugaro and Salapingao while the fire engines of BFP Dagupan are still in transit.

In the case of Lomboy, the local BFP can only intensify the training of barangay officials and residents to serve as auxiliary firemen who will become the first fire responders in their village under the program “Oplan Ligtas na Pamayanan”.

He said with portable water pumps to be operated by trained Barangay officials and residents, a lot of properties in the island can still be saved within minutes.

Meanwhile, Pocyao asked for the support of the SP to his proposal to build one sub-fire station initially in any of the clustered barangays, where one fire engine and a few firemen  can be deployed so they can immediately respond to fires in those areas. (Leonardo Micua)

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments