6 new trucks boost firefighting in R11

THE Bureau of Fire Protection in Davao Region (BFP 11) has acquired six units of Rosenbauer fire trucks worth P102 million to boost its capability.

BFP 11 regional director Fire Senior Superintendent Wilberto Rico Neil A Kwan Tiu, in an interview during the ceremonial turnover of the newly-acquired fire trucks, said these will improve their mobility and boost their capability to effectively and efficiently contain fire incidents.

“We are fortunate in the region to have acquired six units of Rosenbauer Fire Trucks from the BFP National Headquarters and indeed this is very timely considering that we wanted to really preserve and protect the entire region from any disastrous fire,” he said.

These new fire trucks are part of the controversial Rosenbauer fire truck deal under the watch of former Department of Interior and Local Government Unit (DILG) secretary Ismael Sueno. These fire trucks came from Austria under the Bilateral Investment Agreement signed by the Republic of the Philippines and Republic of Austria in April 2002.

“This is top of the line, state-of-the-art kind of fire trucks na kung saan ang ibang bansa ay inaambisyon din na magkaroon ng ganito so malaking tulong ito sa atin especially that our complement right now still very deficient so dagdag ito sa ating mga resources,” he said.

The fire trucks will be distributed in different cities in Davao region. Two fire trucks will be given to Davao City and one each to Island Garden City of Samal, Malita, Nabunturan, and Panabo City.

Kwan Tiu said the distribution was scattered based on the requirements in different local government units (LGUs) where fire incidents are prevalent.

“My directive to the fire marshalls is to strategically locate all Rosenbauer in areas that are categorized as hazard-prone areas. The frequency of fire occurrence ay mas mataas as compared to other location, don dapat natin i-station yong Rosenbauer so that anytime there is a fire call, immediately the Rosenbauer can respond,” he added.

Each fire truck is worth P17 million and equipped with blitz attack capability and could give eight lines of firefighting operations that is designed for high-rise building fire that could last up to 24 hours. It can fill up to 1,000 gallons of water.

“I personally witnessed the capability of this fire engine. It can sustain more than 24 hours of continuous fire operation compared to other fire trucks. Talagang malakas, powerful at matibay,” he added.

He said that this is the second batch of Rosenbauer that was distributed by the BFP HQ. The first batch was distributed already throughout the country with 76 units while 76 units were distributed in the second batch.

In a separate interview with BFP Igacos, fire marshall fire chief inspector Edgar Tanawan, he said a new fire truck is a welcome development.

Considering the geographical location of the city, which is on an island, assistance from neighboring cities is difficult.

“Ang oras atong giapas ana so kinahanglan nga naa jud mi sarili nga capability sa Samal nga para mupalong sa mga kalayo kung halimbawa naay mga panghitabo usa nato hulaton ang mga tabang sa kasigbit nga mga lungsod (We should have our own facility since we are racing with time during fire incidents)," he said, adding that it's their sixth fire truck but the rest are conventional ones.

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