EDITORIAL — Still weak firefighting capability

Last week, the inadequacy of firefighting capability was again highlighted in a fire in Tondo, Manila that raged for nearly two days before it was put out. The fire that razed a four-story warehouse along Guidote street broke out at 7:51 p.m. on Aug. 8 and was declared out 41 hours later.

As in other fires, volunteer firefighters from the private sector arrived to augment the government teams. Unfortunately, 16 of the volunteers were injured reportedly in a backdraft following the sudden explosion of chemical canisters stored on the second floor. Earlier reports said the volunteers, who suffered first- to second-degree burns on their faces and palms, were not wearing protective gear because of insufficient funds.

As far back as 2004, the acute lack of proper firefighting equipment including protective clothing had been highlighted. This was after the 16-year-old daughter of then House speaker Jose de Venecia died in a fire that struck their home in Dasmariñas Village, Makati.

KC de Venecia was trapped on the second floor of their home and suffocated after lights on their Christmas tree malfunctioned and sparked a fire on Dec. 17, 2004. Firefighters lacked the equipment to break into the second floor from outside through the windows or wade into the blaze from the ground floor.

Since then, the government has acquired more fire trucks and protective gear for firefighting personnel. Some improvements have been made in firefighting capability, with many volunteers in the private sector assisting and even fielding their own fire trucks. Still, there’s a wide room for improvement. The country still has weak capability to battle chemical and forest fires.

Many areas still lack fire trucks and even long ladders. At the warehouse in Tondo, stay-in employees managed to climb down from the fourth floor of the building not through a firefighter’s ladder but by using an improvised rope. In Metro Manila and other urban centers, residents are often still seen using buckets and basins of water in trying to put out fires, especially when the firefighters arrive late or cannot enter narrow alleys.

The country has seen numerous catastrophic fires, which have killed hundreds of people in recent years and destroyed massive amounts of property, including the central post office. The fire in Tondo is just the latest reminder of the need to further ramp up firefighting capability.