Manila Standard Today, October 3, 2006
At least 824 firefighters will undergo advanced training on public safety here and abroad, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said yesterday.
Mandatory courses, foreign study grants and local workshops have been lined up for Bureau of Fire and Protection workforce to beef up the agency’s fire prevention and safety capability.
“These courses not only improve the skills of our BFP officers, but boost their morale as well,” Puno said. “The continuing education of our firefighters will help make sure that they are fully prepared for the high-risk task of protecting our citizenry from fire accidents.”
He stressed that the upgrade would offset the sorry state of the present firefighting system, where only 780 of about 1,600 localities have firetrucks and firefighters themselves have to improvise with dilapidated facilities and face acute shortage of safety gear.
Puno disclosed that since last June, 613 have completed the mandatory courses for Fire Basic Recruit Course (298), Fire Protection Supervisory (143) and Fire Arson Investigation and Inspection (172).
Another batch of 190 fire protection staff is taking the Fire Safety Candidate Course (59), the Fire Officers Basic Course (84) and the Fire Officers Advance Course (47).
Puno said he has approved the foreign schooling of a fire officer at the National Fire-fighter Academy in Los Angeles, USA; and two inspectors in Japan for a course on rescue techniques and a seminar on prevention and crisis management of biological terrorism, according to bureau chief Rogelio Asignado.
The applications of eight other fire officers for an Executive Course on National Security in Camp Aguinaldo have also been approved, alongside another eight, who have been cleared to go on study leave and scholarship grants.
Meanwhile, nominees have been picked for a two-year masteral program on governance and human resource management in New Zealand; a fire safety management workshop in Singapore; an international structural firefighting course for developing countries and a technical rope rescue in Malaysia; and a local executives partnership seminar for livelihood development in Singapore.
The bureau has already set 200 slots for the Fire Protection Supervisory Course and 250 slots for the Fire Arson Investigation and Inspection Course next year.
A former congressman representing Antipolo City’s first district, he has called on his former colleagues to raise the level of the local firefighting system by channeling their Countrywide Development Fund.
Under his leadership, Puno signed a memorandum of agreement with the Land Bank of the Philippines last March to tap available funds for local government units to modernize the firefighting capabilities of cities and towns.
