The Pasig City local government procured 28 new high-quality fire trucks which were turned over to the city’s barangays on Thursday, Sept. 14, to boost their emergency response capacities.

Gracing the blessing and turnover ceremony were Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, Vice Mayor Robert “Dodot” Jaworski Jr., Rep. Roman Romulo, Bureau of Fire Protection National Capital Region (BFP-NCR) director Gen. Nahum B. Tarroza, BFP-Pasig Fire Marshal Supt. Elaine Baylon-Evangelista,  the 11th City Council, along with city and barangay officials.

Pasig City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) head Bryant Wong said the responder vehicles were finally procured after many barangays requested fire trucks since the start of Sotto’s first term in 2019.

Wong said the fire trucks feature advanced specifications that the DRRMO sought out after conducting benchmarking activities in Tarlac and Singapore.

The new trucks have a total of 12 hoses, have power take-off (PTO)-driven pumps with additional portable pumps. The trucks also have widened spaces to fit the crew inside and prevent incidents of firefighters falling out of the trucks. It also has added seats fit with breathing apparatus, so the responders are swiftly ready to engage.

To avoid traffic accidents, the trucks’ lights were also made brighter with good blinkers and loud sirens. They have built-in sirens and motor sirens, as well as ramblers or howlers that produce low frequency sound waves or vibrations.

There are now windows inside the trucks for better ventilation, ladders, other tools, and new Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) except for helmets, boots, and gloves.

Sotto disclosed that each of the trucks were procured at P5.9 million, which he said was already cheaper compared to other prices of fire trucks. The price may be relatively lower, but the trucks are of high-quality, he said.

Some barangays were not given the new fire trucks since they did not request for them perhaps due to adequate supplies or lacking capacities, he explained.

“Ang importante kung sino ang nangangailangan ng fire truck, sino ang nag-request na barangay, lahat sabay-sabay na natin maibibigay (What’s important is whoever needs the fire trucks, or whichever barangay requests, we gave them at the same time),” Sotto said.

The mayor asked the barangay officials and BFP personnel to take care of the new trucks, comply with the protocols set by the BFP and DRRMO, and cooperate both at the barangay and city levels and with other local governments.  

Tarroza said it was his first time, in more than 30 years of service in the BFP, to witness the turnover of 28 fire trucks in one city, comparing it to the 17 fire trucks that were previously turned over in Mandaluyong City.

He recognized the local government’s continued efforts to provide and equip barangays with their own adequate and efficient emergency response resources, and also lauded the selection process shared by Wong in prioritizing the specifications of the trucks before and during their procurement.

“A fire truck is an emergency vehicle. If it breaks or malfunctions, you have to fix it within 24 hours. It can’t be fixed in one week,” Tarroza said in English and Tagalog.

In order to improve better response capacities of the BFP, Tarroza also asked Rep. Romulo to consider a potential legislation on standardized sirens or “wang wang” to distinguish the BFP, police, and ambulances.

Wong and Sotto said that 27 patient transport (PT) ambulances will also be given to the barangays by December 2023.