ZAMBOANGA City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has made representations with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for the allocation of one of the Rosenbauer fire trucks to this city to upgrade fire protection services.
Salazar said DILG officials recently went to Austria to take a look at Rosenbauer fire trucks for distribution to the different cities and regions in the country.
Salazar made the personal request to DILG Secretary Ismael Sueno when she attended the meeting of Regional Peace and Order Council chairpersons and vice chairpersons convened by the DILG in Manila last week.
Zamboanga City District Fire Marshal Clint Cha has requested Salazar to bring his concern for the need of another fire truck to the DILG chief.
Cha said land use regulation has placed the ideal fire truck-population ratio to 1:28,000 residents, which means the Zamboanga City Fire District (ZCFD) lacks 11 fire trucks, as the city has a total population of 861,000.
The ZCFD has 20 fire trucks, of which nine are more than 20 years old and work only after expansive repair and preventive maintenance.
Salazar said the allocation of one Rosenbauer fire truck to the ZCFD would help augment and improve fire protection services in Zamboanga City. (Bong Garcia/SunStar Philippines)