Brgys urged to submit sketch of fire hydrant locations

CEBU, Philippines – For disaster preparedness, the Cebu City Council urged all 80 barangays in the city to submit sketches of sitios that indicate where fire hydrants are located.

In an approved resolution of Councilor Eugenio Gabuya, Jr., he said it is necessary to inventory the city's fire hydrants in different barangays.

"Narrow passageways and considerable distance of the fire area from the main road are some of the challenges that would take a longer time for firefighters to accomplish their task of saving lives and protecting properties," the resolution reads.

The resolution was approved during the December 13- regular session of the City Council.

Gabuya said accessing fire hydrants is one of the priorities of fire fighters during fire incidents.

He said the move would help the fire fighters locate the fire hydrants in sitios of the barangays since it takes time to look for them during fire accidents.

"Accessing a hydrant without delay ensures that the firefighters can continue attacking the fire for as long as required," he said.

The City Council asked the 80 barangay captains through the Association of Barangay Councils to submit the sketches of sitios where fire hydrants are positioned.

Sought for comment, ABC President Phillip Zafra said he supports the move considering the office has no list of fire hydrants in different barangays yet.

Zafra, who is also Barangay Captain of Tisa, said he has instructed his people to look for the fire hydrants in the barangay.

"Naa'y mga barangay nga dagko, like sa Tisa, nga wala'y fire hydrants. Sa among barangay, amo pang i-verify kon naa ba and asa dapita," he said.

Because of the move of the City Council, Zafra said the barangay can inventory if it has its own fire hydrants.

As far as he knows, he said there are fire hydrants being stolen by the constituents of the barangays.

"Nindot ni nga move kay at least kahibaw ta sa capacity sa barangays. If naa'y ma-identify nga fire hydrants, at least dili na ta maglisod. At the same time, maka-check ta kon functional or dili," he said.

Zafra said he will also connect with the city's General Services Office if it has its own list of city-owned fire hydrants.

"Ako lang pod awhag sa mga tao nga dili hilabtan ang mga bronse sa fire hydrants kay gi-install na para panalipod ug proteher sa mga properties ug kinabuhi. Angay gyud motabang ang publiko og bantay aning mga fire hydrants nga dili makawat kay makatabang ni in case of emergency, ilabi na sunog," he said. —/JBB (FREEMAN)