BFP 7 HOLDS FEMALE FIRE OLYMPICS 2017
Fire bureau in region holds 2nd firefighting olympics for women firefighters, urges more women to join force
Female firefighters from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) 7 proved that they are as good as their male counterparts during the Female Fire Olympics 2017. “It’s not a handicap for us if we are female because we can still do our duties like men. In fact, a woman’s TLC, or tender and loving care, during fire alarms is very beneficial to the victims to calm them down,” said Supt. Mary Joy Candelario, Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental fire marshal. “We want to eradicate the notion of gender bias in the BFP. Women can also do what men can in terms of rescue and putting out flames,” said Senior Insp. Raul Bustaliño, a BFP 7 official.
Lifting heavy hoses under the rain, female firefighters from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) 7 proved that they are at par with their male counterparts in the Female Fire Olympics 2017.
Dumaguete City Fire Marshall and Provincial Fire Marshall Negros Oriental, Fire Supt. Mary Joy Candelario, said that women also show perform well in the field of firefighting.
“It’s not a handicap for us if we are female because we can still do our duties like men. In fact, a woman’s TLC, or tender and loving care, during fire alarms is very beneficial to the victims to calm them down,” Candelario said.
Candelario said that responding to fire alarms is a very chal- lenging task.
“When you arrive at the fire scene, you cannot anticipate what will happen,” she said.
Aside from firefighting, the BFP 7 also conducts rescue operations.
Candelario said they are also prepared to do rescue missions regarding attacks by the New People’s Army.
“We always do our best to serve the public,” she said.
Female firefighters demonstrated that aside from being gentle, they can also be tough if the need arises.
Senior Insp. Raul Bustaliño, chief of regional operations division of BFP 7, said that for the second year, they held the Female Olympics to show that women are as effective as men in firefighting.
“We want to eradicate the notion of gender bias in the BFP. Women can also do what men can in terms of rescue and putting out flames,” he said.
Bustaliño said that they noted an increase in the number of female applicants to the BFP.
“Females comprise 20 percent of our population in the BFP 7 and that goes higher still,” he said.
He said they are composing a fire station where all the firefighters and the marshall are women.
He urged women to join the region’s firefighting force. “It’s not only men who can do this duty. You can too. The risk of the work should not cause any apprehension to women because they can also do this,” he said.