CEBU, Philippines - The city government will spend P10.8 million to purchase 3,000 fire extinguishers, which will be distributed to different barangays in the city.
Councilor Eugenio Faelnar, president of the Association of Barangay Councils in Cebu City, said the fire extinguishers will be entrusted to the Barangay Fire Brigade, the group tasked to respond to fire alarms in their respective barangays.
He said barangays that do not have their respective fire brigades yet will be made to create the brigades as soon as possible. Barangays are mandated to create their own fire brigades, but there are still those that ignore the same.
Faelnar said the fire extinguishers will greatly help control the spread of fires, particularly in congested areas.
Faelnar said the needed budget for the purchase of the extinguishers will be taken from the city’s calamity fund.
More than 10 years ago, the city also purchased millions of pesos worth of metal pipes used as dry fire hydrants installed in the interior portions of the barangays.
The idea is for fire fighters to connect their hoses to the pipes to reach the interiors of an area where the fire has erupted, but critics described the project as a waste of money because the pipes were either destroyed or stolen by unscrupulous individuals who are unaware of their importance. No water runs in the pipes and they are only used when there is an actual fire.
Meanwhile, the City Council yesterday appropriated P30,000 as financial assistance for the elderly couple who died in a fire in barangay Guadalupe last month. (FREEMAN NEWS)