BFP gets 38 new fire trucks

MANILA, Philippines - Thirty-eight new fire trucks from Austria have boosted the firefighting capability of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II turned over yesterday the 38 top-of-the-line fire trucks to different cities nationwide in the presence of Austrian Ambassador Wilhelm Donko, the recipient city mayors, and officers and members of the BFP led by Fire Chief Superintendent Carlito Romero.

“This is very important as we all know our firemen lack equipment and these new fire trucks could boost firefighting capability, particularly in highly urbanized areas,” Roxas said.             

Roxas credited the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo for initiating the project to acquire more fire trucks.            

The BFP will lead the observance of fire prevention month in March.

Roxas said 11 of the fire trucks will be deployed in Metro Manila and nine trucks each will be sent to other urban areas in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. 

The fire trucks were built to respond to fires in highly urbanized areas.

Roxas said the 38 Austrian-made Rosenbauer TLF 4000 fire trucks represent half of the 76 units that the government has procured through a soft loan package of about P1.1 billion. 

The loan is payable in 17 and a half years with an interest rate of one percent per year.

Each fire truck has four doors with a seating capacity of seven passengers and equipped with ladders that could reach up to an eight-story building.  

These are 1,000-gallon water pumper fire trucks capable of discharging 2,400 liters of water per minute. Powerful water cannons are mounted on the fire trucks which are equipped with two quick response hoses and two regular hoses.

They have a total of five firefighting weapons that can be used simultaneously for faster and better fire control action and can be pulled out easily.

Firemen held a demonstration of the trucks’ firefighting capabilities during the turnover ceremony.

Roxas personally tested one of the fire trucks’ quick response hoses while inspecting the various equipment and personnel protective gear.

He said fire trucks form part of the curative solution, but keeping the public aware of how to prevent fire is still more important, especially with the onset of summer.

Roxas said the initial 38 trucks were turned over to Quezon City, Manila, Caloocan City, Malabon, Parañaque, Pasay City, Pasig, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Las Piñas and Taguig.

Seventeen other recipient cities were scattered in northern, southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, he added.