BFP-7 team wins in National Fire Olympics

CEBU, Philippines- The 15-man team that represented the Bureau of Fire Protection-7 bested 16 other teams from across the country in the two-day National Fire Olympics in Quezon City last week.

The team competed in the “men in uniform” category for firefighting personnel.

“We could see other regions were well prepared so what we did, we told ourselves to just do our best and to give out the best of our abilities,” said team member FO3 Zylbeth Yapsangco – Cortes.

The event was organized by the BFP on March 3 and 4 as part of the observance of the Fire Prevention Month. 

Aside from firefighting personnel, the event also featured barangay fire volunteers and emergency preparedness and response teams from different private and corporate organizers.

Cortes said they are elated to bring home the top prize, considering that they only had less than a week to prepare. The BFP-7 team also won the Blitz Attack competition.

“Imagine, we are to compete with the (other regional offices in the) whole country. We are very proud and honored to represent the fire marshal of Central Visayas. We really strived to do our best so that when we return home, our comrades would be happy for us,” she said.

The team was led by its coach, Chief Insp. Arnel Abella and team leader, Supt. Erlinda Tobias, the newly appointed director of BFP-7.

The participating teams were judged based on the amount of time consumed and strategy employed.

Aside from the top prize, Cortes said the bigger fulfillment for the group is the lesson it has imparted to the community.

“Once you conduct rescue, you should consider the lives and properties at stake, so it’s not necessary to immediately extinguish the fire. There are proper ways and techniques to do it when we handle such incidents – that is, slowly but surely,” she said.  (FREEMAN)