Tagbilaran City lacks fire trucks

CEBU, Philippines - This capital city of Bohol needs to get four more fire trucks to meet the standard requirement of one fire truck for every 28,000 population.

City Fire Marshal Rogelio Bongabong Jr. said the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Tagbilaran City now has only seven fire trucks serving 92,000 residents, which now means a ratio of one fire truck for every 34,000 people.

Bongabong said the difference may be minimal, though, and he was optimistic that the next city administration will attend to the BFP's request for four more fire trucks,

The outgoing administration had failed to get any of the six new fire trucks that the DILG recently acquired, said Bongabong, while thanking the BQ Mall and the Alturas Group of Companies that have been making their respective fire trucks available as force multiplier whenever there is a fire alarm in the city and in the nearby towns.

The city also needs at least two more tankers and additional hydrants at the Uptown area, he said, while reminding business operators and schools to comply with the fire safety requirements. (FREEMAN)