MANILA, Philippines - At least 682 firefighters were deployed Thursday to fire stations all over the country to address the shortage of firefighters as the country observes Fire Prevention Month.
Philippine Public Safety College president Ruben Platon said the firefighters – 505 men and 177 women – have just finished six months of basic training at the National Fire Training Institute (NFTI), one of the training schools under the PPSC.
“The completion of their training is indeed timely as they will help in easing the fire bureau’s problem of inadequately trained firemen,†he said.
Platon, along with NFTI director Fire Senior Superintendent Joseph Bacareza, distributed certificates of completion to the graduates during simple graduation ceremonies on Feb. 28 at the NFTI compound in Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba City.
Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) officer-in-charge Chief Superintendent Carlito Romero said they need at least 14,000 more firefighters to meet the growing demand for firefighting services nationwide, especially in far-flung areas of the country.
Platon said the new firefighters were also trained in basic water and land search and rescue techniques during calamities, first aid, jungle survival and defensive driving.
He said Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas ordered the BFP to expand the coverage of the firefighters’ training.