THE village of Calarian, one of the growth centers in the west coast, has pioneered among Zamboanga City’s 98 villages in acquiring its own fire truck.

El King Omaga, Calarian village chief, said they decided to purchase a fire truck worth P1.3 million, although a surplus, since they experience two to three fire incidents annually.

Omaga said the fire truck, which arrived over a week ago, they purchased is a “penetrator-type” and made in Japan.

The village chief said the fund they used for the acquisition came from Calarian’s five percent Disaster Risk Reduction and Management fund.

He said they have organized a fire volunteer brigade consisting of village watchmen (tanods) and staff.

The Zamboanga City Fire District (ZCFD) maintains a fire sub-station Calarian but its fire truck is under repair, he added.

Aside from Calarian, the sub-station of the ZCFD also serves the nearby villages.

Chief Inspector Douglas Zabala, ZCFD operations branch chief, said Calarian is a fire-prone village since several houses, mostly made of light material, are closely-built to each other in large portion of the village.

Zabala said they have 22 fire trucks and three units are under repair. (Bong Garcia/SunStar Philippines)