• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The Bacolod City Fire Station led by City Fire Marshal FSupt. Jenny Mae Masip presented the Red Zone Program of the BFP to 61 barangay captains of Bacolod City during a meeting at Sugarland Hotel in the city yesterday.
The program focused on fire safety measures and other key initiatives aligned with Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez’s administration aimed at ensuring the safety and well-being of every Bacolodnon.
Masip, earlier updated the Sangguniang Panlungsod that a task force had been created to monitor red zone areas in the city, chaired by Councilor Psyche Marie Sy.
Currently, they have identified a total of 283 red zones in Bacolod City. They consider certain puroks as red zones if more than 50 percent of the houses are made of light materials, the distances between houses do not conform with the Building Code and Bureau of Fire Protection Code, and the place is not accessible to fire trucks and other responders, she said.
Masip said they have started conducting intensified fire safety lectures and drills in areas considered as red zones on July 6, which they hope to complete at the end of August.
The task force is also planning to undertake the establishment of communication facilities. With the increasing number of houses involved during fire incidents, one of the measures they plan to undertake is to provide handheld radios to fire prone puroks in order for them to immediately inform the nearest fire station in case of fire. They also plan to install warning systems, among other measures, she said.
They are also conducting hazard mapping and trying to determine other equipment they will need during firefighting operations. They currently have one central station and nine substations and have a total of 116 personnel, Masip said.
They are also considering putting up one substation in Banago and another on Handumanan, she added.*
