21 towns in Pangasinan are without firetrucks

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — Twenty-one out of 44 towns in Pangasinan have no fire stations and fire trucks, according to a provincial board member.

First District Board Member Danilo Dizon identified these municipalities without fire stations and fire trucks as Anda, Agno, Mabini, Burgos, Infanta, Dasol, Sual, Labrador, Bugallon, Aguilar, Urbiztondo, Basista, San Jacinto, San Fabian, Laoac, Sto. Tomas, Bautista and Alcala.

Municipalities with fire stations but without serviceable fire trucks are Mangatarem, Mapandan, Tayug and Umingan.

Dizon said that these towns are helpless if a fire strikes their area, similar to what happened in Tayug town April last year. He said that flames lasted for several hours because the Tayug Fire Station does not have any serviceable fire truck, just like its neighboring towns.

Dizon also said that there are only 338 firefighters in Pangasinan, which has a population of 2,433,000.

He also lamented the fact that these firefighters do not have gas masks, fireproof suits, communication gadgets and other necessary equipment. — Eva de Leon