The Manila Electric Company (Meralco), in partnership with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the local government, opened its own fire and rescue sub-station in Pasig City.
Among the attendees of the inauguration were Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, Congressman Roman Romulo, BFP Chief Fire Director Louie Puracan, Meralco President and CEO Atty. Ray Espinosa, and Meralco Chairman Manuel Pangilinan.
Officials from Meralco, BFP, and the City of Pasig led the inauguration and blessing of the Meralco Fire Sub-Station. Seen in the photo (L-R) are: Meralco Vice President and Head of Facilities, Safety, and Security Management Engr. Antonio M. Abuel Jr., Pasig City Fire Marshall Supt. Elaine Evangelista, Bureau of Fire Protection Chief Fire Director Louie S. Puracan, CEO VI, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, Meralco President and CEO Atty. Ray C. Espinosa, Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, Pasig City District Representative Roman Romulo, Pasig City Administrator Atty. Jeronimo Manzanero, and Department of Interior and Local Government City Director Visitacion C. Martinez, CESO.
Located within Meralco’s headquarters in Ortigas, Pasig City, the sub-station will become the company’s primary fire emergency response center, operated by the Meralco Fire Brigade.
Prepped with its own set of fire trucks, water tankers, rescue tenders, and rescue boats, the Meralco Fire Brigade will work in tandem with the BFP-Pasig sector and cater to response activities in cities such as Pasig and Mandaluyong.
The sub-station will serve as the BFP’s direct link to Meralco’s System Control. When fires hit areas serviced by the company, power can be switched off as soon as possible to prevent the fires from spreading further.
To ensure the compliance of the brigade to the BFP standards and policies, the sub-station will also be the main training facility for its firefighters and rescue teams.
Sotto said that the Meralco Fire Brigade has begun collaborating with BFP-Pasig, and participating in local emergency response operations.
“This will be of great help to the City of Pasig and the Bureau of Fire Protection,” he added.
Romulo also thanked the public and private sectors involved in the project, saying he hopes that Meralco “will never tire of helping and supporting the local and national government.”
The new Meralco Fire Sub-Station will house the Meralco Rescue Fire Brigade and its specialized equipment such as fire trucks, water tankers, rescue tenders, and rescue boats.
“Fire prevention is everybody’s business. We hope that this new fire station will help us with our mandate to save lives and properties,” remarked BFP Chief Puracan.
On behalf of Meralco, Atty. Espinosa and Chairman Pangilinan assured their government and private sector partners of the company’s commitment to providing services to the public, especially the citizens of Pasig and other nearby communities, and promoting public safety.
As long-time institutional partners, Meralco and the BFP signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in 2022 to build and establish a fire brigade team in Meralco’s operating center to assist in fire incident response. With additional manpower and resources, the fire brigade aims to help the BFP improve its target response time of five to seven minutes.