Fil-Chinese fire brigade gets more efficient truck

CEBU, Philippines - The Rotary Club of Singapore West, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Cebu West, donated a fire truck to the Cebu Filipino-Chinese Volunteers Fire Brigade with special features that will help ease the load of firemen during fire incidents.

The activity of the Rotary Club members was just in time with the start of the Fire Prevention Month tomorrow but Johnny Chik, the fire brigade chief, said that the donation came up primarily because they are also celebrating the Rotary Week.

Yesterday afternoon, both Rotary Clubs held the formal turnover of the donated fire truck and equipment such as hoses and nozzles, among others, at the CFCVFB headquarters.

Leonardo Sylianco Jr., assistant fire marshal, named the special features of the fire truck as the hydraulic arm, two suction hoses, hose cart, and a monitor, all of which are mechanized.

Sylianco said that so far, this is the first fire truck in Cebu with mechanized features that will definitely help lessen the effort of the firefighters, noting that all fire trucks in Cebu have features that need to be maneuvered manually which most of the time causes the delay.

He explained that the hydraulic arm is designed for an easier and more convenient removal of the ladder from the truck.

The two suction hoses, the standard equipment for a fire truck, is also special because if a fireman is done getting water from the dam, or other sources of water, there is a motorized gadget that will retrieve it, he said.

The hose cart, on the other hand, is a detachable cart from the truck that can carry many hoses especially to narrow pathways or areas that firefighters find difficult to access during fire incidents. Firemen will no longer take so much effort in carrying these heavy hoses, he said.

The monitor, which they label as similar to that of a “tangke de gierra”, is a portable device, with a maximum of two holes where hoses can be attached, which excrete water as far as over 50 meters away.

The fire truck, with a package amount of P1.6 million and made in Japan, was purchased from Manila. It is the 10th fire truck of the CFCVFB.

Members of the said fire brigade said that it is the second time the Rotary Club of Singapore West donated fire truck to them. The first one was a water tanker donated to them way back in 2005 and is still currently functional.

For the observance of the Fire Prevention Month, Sylianco said they will support the activities of the Cebu City Fire Department led by Fire Marshal Esmael Codilla of whom they have the “best relationship” with. — Niña G. Sumacot/MEEV         FREEMAN NEWS)