By R. G. Antonet Go/PNA
ZAMBOANGA CITY — A village here became a pioneer in fire safety and prevention after it acquired its own fire truck.
Barangay Calarian is the first among this city’s 98 barangays to purchase a fire truck as it used to experience two to three fire incidents every year, said village chief El King Omaga on Saturday.
Senior Insp. Douglas Zabala, Zamboanga City Fire District operations branch chief, said Calarian is a fire-prone area because houses — mostly made of light materials — are closely-built next to each other.
Omaga said the surplus fire truck they purchased last week is a Japan-made “penetrator-type” amounting to PHP1.3 million.
He said the funds used for the acquisition came from the barangay’s 5 percent Disaster Risk Reduction and Management fund.
“This fire truck is owned by the barangay and will be operated by the barangay,” he added. He said a fire volunteer brigade consisting of village watchmen (tanods) and barangay personnel has been organized. A fire sub-station is located in Barangay Calarian but its fire truck is under repair. The sub-station also serves nearby barangays.
Zabala said the local fire bureau has 22 fire trucks and three of these are non-functional.
