President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Tuesday, February 11, led the turnover of newly-acquired fire trucks to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) noting the handover of the new equipment shows the government’s full support to the fire bureau to ensure public safety by saving lives and protecting properties.
“I hope that with these fire trucks, the BFP will become more capable and effective in ensuring the safety of our communities and industries,” President Duterte said in a speech during the turnover ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
“I am confident that with your help, we can further boost our people’s confidence in their government and create an environment where our people can live and work in peace.”
With the additional fire trucks and the recent increase in the salaries of uniformed personnel, the Filipino people expect the members of the BFP to become more dedicated, efficient and reliable in the performance of their duties, the President said.
“May you be further inspired to work even harder in the building of the bedrock of a safer and more prosperous society for the present and future generations,” he added.
At the same time, the Chief Executive called on the members of the BFP, under the leadership of Fire Director Jose Embang Jr., to further step up their anti-corruption efforts by ensuring the corrupt-free conduct of fire safety inspections and the issuance of the fire safety inspection certifications pursuant to the Ease of Doing Business Law.
Among the equipment turned over Tuesday were 51 fire trucks with 1,000-gallon capacity, 20 water tenders with 2,500-gallon capacity and three rescue trucks equipped with state-of-the-art tools.
The Isuzu Motors-made fire trucks, are powered by Euro IV compliant, six-cylinder turbo charged engines. The trucks also feature corrosion-resistant stainless steel tanks with much reduced weight.
The newly acquired assets include an operation manual that can be viewed beside the control panel making it user-friendly.
The new fire-fighting equipment will be distributed to cities and municipalities nationwide to boost BFP’s capability in line with its mandate.
The bureau looks forward to establishing a modern fire service capable of ensuring a nation safe from threats of fire by 2034. PND
