Bontoc, Mountain Province – The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is calling on the community to help in the prevention of forest/ mountain fires and for the barangay officials to take the lead in their respective villages.
The Bontoc Municipal Fire Station (MFS) headed by Acting Municipal Fire Marshall SFO4 John Dacwag, made this appeal during the Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC) meeting on April 17, 2024, in Barangay Talubin, Bontoc, Mountain Province. The said meeting was attended by municipal elected officials, barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials and functionaries, and representatives from the offices of the Bontoc Local Government Unit (LGU), partner agencies and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
SFO3 Charles Fidel Golocan in his report during the meeting relayed that from January 1, 2024 –April 16, 2024, the Bontoc MFS responded to reported 29 non-structural fires and three structural fires, totalling to 32 fire incidents. Of the non-structural fire incidents responded to by the BFP and partner stakeholders, he noted that suppressing forest fires is challenging due to the mountainous terrain and the location of some of the forest fire incidents are inaccessible for fire trucks.
With forest fire and grass fire incidents topping the lists of non-structural fire incidents, Golocan solicited the support of the barangay officials to take the lead in forest fire prevention in their respective villages, especially since 38 fire incidents were not reported to the Bontoc MFS, but the firefighters have still responded to some these. He shared that five cases relating to the recorded fire incidents in the municipality have already been filed in court.
He called on the community and barangay officials where the forest fires occur to be the first responders in putting out the fire while these are still small and while waiting for augmentation from the BFP.
Also, he solicited the support of the barangay local government units in the organization or establishment of a Community Fire Auxiliary Group (CFAG) and fire brigades in every barangay. The BFP is the lead agency in the organization of CFAG in barangays to serve as first responders during fire incidents, especially in areas that are isolated and far from the fire stations.
In his presentation, Golocan named the barangays that have organized and trained CFAG to include Samoki, Gonogon, Alab Proper, Mainit, and Guina-ang. Aside from this, there are six fire brigades including Alab Oriente Barangay Fire Brigade, Balili Barangay Volunteer Brigade, BOMARVA Fire Brigade, Lanao Fire Brigade, Provincial Social Security Group Fire Brigade, and Bontoc Emergency Response Team (BERT) Fire Brigade.
Relative to this, Bontoc Mayor Jerome “Chagsen” Tudlong, Jr., who is the Chairperson of MPOC, reiterated his call to the public to cooperate in preventing fire and promoting safety.
The mayor appealed to the public to be mindful of the impact of forest fires on the environment, the health of the public, and the safety of motorists and responders.
“We need the participation of each member of the community; they should help us in preventing this kind of incidents that lead to the destruction of the forests and the environment and cause harm to our health,” Mayor Tudlong emphasized. By Alpine L. Killa-Malwagay
