DAVAO City Central 911 denied accusations that its office failed to respond to an internal operational accident during a rappelling activity by one of its Fire Auxiliary Service (FAS) Unit personnel.
In a statement issued Friday, August 20, Central 911 said the Fire Auxiliary Service (FAS) member, who is an Auxiliary Fireman Poster involved in the accident, was not authorized to do rappelling activities due to lack of “formal training and rating on high-angle rescue.”
“For some reason, on that day, he took hold of the rope, ascended, and reportedly doing some horseplay while climbing. His lack of proper training on technical rescue activity and his uncalled-for behavior caused him to lose focus on appropriate safe handling of the rappelling rope resulting in his low-level fall. Fireman Poster fell about 8 feet to the ground and not from the top of the building,” the agency said.
It denied claims that the Fireman Poster did not get help from the office.
“It is not in the Central 911 organization's culture to leave our people to suffer during mishaps, especially during duty hours,” Central 911 said.
The agency said on-duty fire medics immediately attended and assessed the patient for possible severe injury. No injury was noted, the office said.
The 911 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) ambulance was dispatched to transport him to the hospital for further checkups and x-rays.
“However, Fireman Poster declined to be transported and declared that he was in good condition. He, instead, asked his Team Leader that he be allowed to go home,” 911 said.
“Team Leader on duty offered a ride home using the FAS Unit's available vehicle or escorted to one of his colleagues. Fireman Poster also declined both offers. The Team Leader allowed Fireman Poster to go home to rest but instructed him to have an X-ray as soon as possible,” 911 added.
Additionally, the Head of the Central 911 Administration provided assistance and made verifications to reimburse his medical expenses, including the x-ray, the office said.
The Central 911 confirmed that the said staff was reprimanded, which according to them is a “normal reaction given the risk of his ‘unauthorized’ participation in the rappelling activity without proper training.”
“His action could have killed him. It was primarily a concern for his safety,” it said.
The office said it is currently investigating the matter to determine the accountability of some persons, including the said personnel, for breach of some basic rules on personal safety protocols and other related policies.
“We want to assure the public that our operations follow standard protocols on safety at all times,” Central 911 said.
The office issued the statement in response to social media posts, including by a news media outlet, calling these accusations “false and baseless.”
The 911 office did not name the media outlet. However, dxGM Super Radyo Davao’s radio program “Imbestigador Southern Mindanao” denied on its Facebook page the former’s claim of not getting their side.
The radio program, which had been flooded with complaints from the 911 employees, said it had been reaching out to Central 911 Head Emmanuel Jaldon to get their side, but the official was not responding to their inquiries.
The radio program was also able to interview Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) Lemuel Ortonio, where the latter said they will be forming a fact-finding and investigation team following the series of complaints from the 911 FAS and his family against the head of the 911 FAS.
According to their report, Ortonio summoned the Central 911 officials in an online meeting to discuss and address the complaints.
SunStar Davao has reached out to the HRMO official, but he has not yet responded as of writing.