Officials of the Makati Fire Station,whose parked private vehicles were blocking the station’s fire truck bay, were sacked on Tuesday, July 1, during the surprise inspection of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor ‘Jonvic’ Remulla.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor ‘Jonvic’ Remulla
Remulla saw the parked vehicles of the concerned personnel obstructing the entry and exit points of fire trucks and emergency response ambulances.
He said the obstruction will cause a huge delay in responding to fires and other public safety emergencies where lives and properties are on the line.
The DILG did not disclose the identities of the fire officials.
The DILG explained that Republic Act (RA) 9514 or the Fire Code of the Philippines of 2018 and the 2019 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) provide that there should be no obstructions in the ingress and egress of fire trucks and emergency response vehicles nor should there be any prevention, interference or obstruction of any operation of the fire service.
“Officials found violating the said provisions may be held administratively liable for willful impropriety or gross negligence in the performance of his/her duty in accordance with Section 11 of the Fire Code,’’ the DILG noted.
To ensure clear exit routes of fire response assets, the DILG called on fire station chiefs to prohibit any parking in front of or near fire trucks and order the immediate removal of all unauthorized parked vehicles blocking fire response units.