Dumanjug eyes new fire equipment

CEBU, Philippines — The municipal government of Dumanjug is planning to install water sprinklers and buy other firefighting equipment after a fire incident that damaged one of its offices last Saturday.

Mayor Rene Asentista said the incident was “only minor.” He said that an old outlet sparked around 9 a.m. after the municipal hall had to switch power sources from the main power line to their generator because of power outage.

The spark resulted in a fire which burned some of the maps stored at the Municipal Assessor's Office. Some were saved but were damaged by water during the firefighting operation.

Asentista said no one was injured and the fire was placed under control within 10 minutes. He said their municipal building does not have water sprinklers because this was built during the Spanish period. It was, however, renovated five years ago.

The town mayor said that because of the incident, he is planning to ask the help of the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) to acquire and install water sprinklers in the municipal building.

He has also instructed the municipal electrician to inspect the electrical wirings of the building.

“Dapat mo-comply gyud ta sa fire safety (requirements),” he said.

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Cesar Baricuatro said that the incident serves as "wake up call" for Dumanjug. He also expressed disappoinment after the mayor vetoed a resolution seeking to purchase new firefighting equipment.

“Ni-respond ang Dumajug pero sira-sira ang truck namin kasi hindi na-maintain. Putol-putol ang agas sa tubig. May ngane ni-respond ang Barili. Instead of buying a very expensive aerial platform worth P7.2 million, bibili nalang kami ng rescue boat, firetruck at ilang equipment,” he said.

After the incident, Baricuatro hopes that the purchase of equipment that can be utilized during emergency situations like fire will be prioritized. (FREEMAN)