BACOLOD City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez urged the PrimeWater-Baciwa to calibrate the fire hydrants in the city.
Benitez said Monday, July 10, in a press conference that Bacolod City has a total of 135 fire hydrants.
Of the number, only 30 are functional, though he is not sure if some of the units have pressure to refill the firetrucks.
He made the statement following the July 6 fire at 15th Lacson Street, Purok Magnolia, Barangay 7, which gutted at least 30 houses.
Benitez said that when he arrived in the area, about six houses were razed by fire, but it reached to 29 houses.
He said the area has a narrow passageway and the firefighters also ran out of water while battling the blaze.
Benitez immediately held a meeting with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO), and Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD) at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) on July 7.
Benitez said the firefighters claimed that they are facing difficulty in using the fire hydrants because most of the units are not functional and lack pressure.
Aside from 135 fire hydrants, he said the BFP also identified 119 locations or red zones that need to be addressed to avoid similar incidents.
"We need to calibrate the fire hydrants as well as the 119 red zones to make sure that we are prepared," Benitez stressed/
The mayor noted that there was also a suggestion to put five standby water tankers in strategic areas in the city.
"If we can't use the fire hydrants, we have the standby water tanks to refill the firetrucks," Benitez said.
He said he will check with the PrimeWater-Baciwa to determine the responsibility for the purchase of the standby water tankers since the fire hydrants were non-functional.
He added that the PrimeWater-Baciwa was required to submit their fire hydrant plan to the City Mayor's Office.
Moreover, Sally Abelarde, officer-in-charge of DSSD, said they determined that 23 houses were destroyed and one house was damaged with 12 sharers and 33 renters, or a total of 69 families affected.
She said the families whose houses were destroyed will receive P15,000 each in financial assistance, P10,000 for those whose houses were damaged, and P5,000 for the sharers and renters.
She added that they are now processing their documents so they can claim their financial assistance within a week.
Abelarde noted that only three families are still staying at the Barangay 7 Daycare Center while others are staying with their relatives near the area.
Meanwhile, Benitez said the area was already purchased by the bank and there's an existing subdivision plan.
"Since there's an existing subdivision plan, those who want to construct their house in the area should also be based on the city's building code," he said.
He added that he already tasked the Bacolod Housing Authority (BHA) to inspect the area and submit their report.*