After the inferno
CH to strictly implement ordinance banning overnight parking; fire official laments lack of gear
Council expected to declare firestricken Sitio Sto. Niño in Barangay Guizo and Sitio Salvacion in Barangay Maguikay under a state of calamity today
THE Mandaue City Fire Station (MCFS) recommended the strict prohibition of overnight parking and the establishment of additional access roads in congested areas in all barangays so fire trucks can easily respond to fire alarms.
Members of the Bantay Mandaue and MCFS responded to four fire alarms in Barangays Bakilid (not Banilad as earlier reported), Looc, Maguikay and Guizo less than an hour before and after the new year.
Aside from the short interval between these fire alarms, narrow roads and parked vehicles were among the problems encountered by firefighters.
Proposals
Senior Insp. Josephus Alburo, fire marshal of MCFS, recommended to Mayor Luigi Quisumbing to provide additional access in every barangay, especially in areas with narrow roads, and an additional sub-station in every barangay.
Alburo also wants the council to approve the setting up of “no-parking areas” in the city, especially on roads in fire-prone areas.
“One of the obstructions that we encounter when responding to fires is illegal parking,” Alburo said.
If there are fire substations, these will also reduce the response time, he added.
Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna said there is an ordinance that prohibits overnight parking and the City will strictly implement it.
Mandaue City has one fire station with 36 firefighters on A. Soriano Ave.
The station only has four self-contained breathing apparatus. Alburo said every firefighter should have one.
The MCFS also lacks entry tools like hydraulic jacks and rotary saws to cut metals and pound cement, he said.
Fire code fees
Meanwhile, Alburo said they have yet to receive 20 percent of the fire code fees they collected from 2010 to 2016 from the National Government.
The MCFS was supposed to get more than P3 million from 2010 to 2015 and another P1.6 million last year.
The amount would have helped MCFS acquire equipment for their operations, he said.
More than 500 families in Barangays Guizo and Maguikay were displaced by fire past 1 a.m. last Jan. 1.
Following the declaration of Sitio Sto. Niño under a state of calamity, Guizo Barangay Captain Jesus Neri said they will use P80,000 of their P117,000 calamity fund to buy rice and canned goods for 275 affected families.
Assistance
Neri said the City Social Welfare and Development Office have been supplying them with food for the past three days.
Some families, who have been staying in the chapel, were asked to move to the multipurpose hall as the barangay will start the novena for the feast of Sto. Niño on Jan. 14.
Neri said they need additional tarpaulins, basins, kitchen utensils, underwear for adults and diapers for the children.
In Sitio Salvacion, Maguikay Barangay Captain Francis Tan said they will use 30 percent of the P635,000 calamity fund to buy food and kitchen utensils for the fire survivors.
The City Council is expected to declare the two sitios under a state of calamity today.