BFP-7 firemen awarded for joining Singapore tilt

CEBU, Philippines – The Bureau of Fire Protection-7 yesterday awarded two Cebuano firefighters who were among the few representatives of the Philippines to a civil defense competition held in Singapore that was participated in by different countries.

Fire Officer 2 Romeo Birao and FO1 Walter Gacayan received the “Medalya ng Pambihirang Paglilingkod” for their significant role in helping their team win seven awards in different competitions.

The two firefighters represented Cebu in the 15th Civil Defense Skills Competition along with other members of the Philippine Contingent that competed with representative from countries like Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

The competition was held in the Basic Rescue Training Centre, Civil Defense Academy in Singapore.

The Civil Defense Skills Competition is an annual Competitive Meet in which personnel from civil defense agencies from all over compete through their strength, skills and speed in various civil defense-related challenges and activities

 Among the competitions they won was the “Ladder 49” competition which tested their skills and speed in saving a person from the higher level of a building and bringing him to safety, and the “Spiderman” competition that tested their skills in rappelling.

They also aced the “Mission impossible” competition which tested their skills in finding a person in zero visibility and also the “Final Destination II” competition which tested their speed and agility.

Birao said they were just happy to have been chosen to represent the region and winning was an additional blessing.

Birao, who has been a firefighter for 11 years, said that they were grateful because they were chosen out of the numerous names that were recommended.

He underwent rigid training before the competition last March 24 to 29.

Birao said that after training in Cebu, they were also sent to the National training Institute in Manila for another set of training exercises.

Gacayan also said that aside from the awards, they were proud to prove that the country is able to compete in terms of ensuring the safety of the public.

Gacayan said that this is one way to change the public’s misconceptions that they are not trained and well-equipped to respond to certain emergencies.

BFP-7 regional director Aloveel Ferrer awarded the two and commended them for the pride they have given not just the BFP-7 but the whole country. —AJ de la Torre/BRP (THE FREEMAN)