There are 500 municipalities in the country without a fire truck or station, four of these in Negros Occidental.

But Fire Senior Supt. Lindy Lauzon, regional director of the Bureau of Fire and Protection in Western Visayas, said yesterday that the lack of fire trucks will soon be resolved as the government has already began the procurement of 469 brand new fire trucks, with a budget of P2.5 billion.

Lauzon said the municipality of EB Magalona was among the first recipients of a brand new fire truck in Negros Occidental. It was formally turned over yesterday by the BFP to the town officials.

Eighty brand new fire trucks were recently distributed to the towns and cities of 55 provinces by Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas in Laguna, with the town of EB Magalona among the recipients.

Lauzon said 40 more units of brand new fire trucks are set to be delivered to BFP by the end of this month, and 33 more are in the pipeline within a year.

The brand new fire trucks being distributed to various municipalities by BFP costs P5 million each.

Lauzon also encouraged local government units to beef up fire fighting personnel of BFP in their areas, to meet the standard requirements of 14 personnel per fire station.

At present, he said BFP can only afford to deploy five to six personnel per BFP station, due to budget constraints.

Fire Supt. Fred Trajeras, BFP provincial chief of Negros Occidental, said yesterday that he was ordered by their central office to create a temporary BFP regional office, with the creation of Region 18, also known as the Negros Island Region.

Trajeras said they were given two blocks at the Negros First Cyber Center in Bacolod City to serve as the temporary BFP regional office. “We are also hoping to finish the construction of the San Juan Fire Station in Bacolod City, so that we could no longer renting the area,” he added.

Within a five year adjustment, they could be situated within the boundary of Kabankalan and Mabinay areas, Trajeras said, apparently referring to the BFP regional office.

EB Magalona Councilor Rob Acaling, who represented Mayor David Albert Lacson during the turnover ceremony of the fire truck, said the local government unit will do its utmost best in taking care of it, as it will not only benefit the Saraviahanons, but also the neighboring towns and cities as well.*GPB

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