CEBU CITY – In the past weeks, firefighters here have not only responded to fire alarms but also to reports of wild animal sightings.
PERSONNEL of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Central Visayas teach firefighters in Cebu City how to rescue a snake during a training on Monday, October 9. (Calvin D. Cordova)
With this, personnel of the Cebu City Fire Office (CCFO) on Monday, October 9, took part in a Wildlife Management Training conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Central Visayas (DENR-7) at the Parian Fire Substation.
SFO2 Wendell Villanueva, spokesperson of CCFO, said that apart from responding to fire alarms, firefighters are also being tapped to conduct rescue operations involving wild animals.
“For the past weeks, because of the heavy rains, sightings of big snakes have become common. We have already rescued at least five snakes in the past week. It’s either they escaped from their cage or got washed away by strong current,” said Villanueva.
Because of these recent incidents, Supt. Reynaldo Enoc, CCFO chief, initiated a training to further enhance the capability of firefighters to rescue wild animals.
The CCFO is composed of 10 substations. Each substation sent two personnel to attend the training.
Those who attended the training will then share to their fellow firefighters what they learned from the training, said Villanueva.
“If there are reports of wildlife animals that need to be rescued, we will be the ones to respond and then coordinate with the DENR and city government to facilitate the safekeeping of the rescued animals,” said Villanueva.
Villanueva said snakes rescued the past few days have been turned over to the DENR.