Saturday, November 11, 2006
Narrow roads seen to hamper rescues
By Danilo V. Adorador III
THE inaccessibility of roads in most residential communities in Cagayan de Oro City will take a heavier toll on lives and properties in future conflagrations, officials here warned Friday.
Salvador Estudillo, head of the Office of Civil Defense in Northern Mindanao, urged the local government to review its urban planning policies and give more attention to the widening of roads in the city's interior sections and in far-flung barangays.
Estudillo's call came after the Tuesday evening incident in Barangay 26 where a fire devoured around 100 houses, reducing to ashes P19 million worth of properties and leaving 168 families homeless.
FO2 Daniel Penuliad of the City Fire Department pointed out that the area's narrow pathways had slowed their movements, allowing the fire to spread wide to other houses.
"Aside from being narrow, the road was swarmed with residents fleeing with their valuables so we couldn't get in the way. Imagine yourself carrying a heavy nozzle and jostling with the crowd," said Penuliad.
Penuliad said the inaccessibility or the absence of wider pathways, especially in slum areas, has become a common problem that prevents firefighters from salvaging more properties particularly in interior areas.
Estudillo said the civil defense office has already directed local government units around Northern Mindanao to widen road networks, not only in isolated barangays but also in crowded residential areas in highly urbanized cities.
"Wider roads will help mitigate the impact of disasters, such as during fires, because rescue and response teams will have easy access to penetrate the target area," Estudillo said.
"An alternative to inaccessibility, specifically in urban areas, is the construction of fire hydrants in strategic locations in all residential communities," he said.
Estudillo noted, however, that the city lacks fire hydrants.
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (November 11, 2006 issue)
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