SENATOR Ralph Recto is asking government to spend more money for the purchase of more fire engines, noting that many of the country's 1,400 towns do not have firefighting equipment and rely on firemen from urban centers to battle blazes.

"The Bureau of Fire Prevention (BFP) should be properly equipped to manage fires. The country has only 1,633 fire trucks, many of them distributed in capital towns and cities. This means that small municipalities have no fire stations," he added.

Recto said of the 1,633 fire trucks, 134 are out of commission while many are in various stages of disrepair.

Last year, 8,823 fires were recorded by the BFP nationwide, about 20 percent less than the fires that happened in 2005.

"Nonetheless, the BFP should be thankful that more prosperous cities have purchased fire engines and local businessmen themselves have organized fire brigades to put out fires, whether caused accidentally or deliberately," Recto added.

He urged local government units (LGUs) to buy fire trucks on their own to beef up the country's firefighting ability, particularly LGUs that have large shantytowns or communities that have houses made of light materials.

"It's indeed a pity that many municipalities in Luzon don't have fire trucks, the reason why our fire fighters could not respond quickly and adequately to minimize deaths and injuries when fire strikes," Recto stressed.

"Billions of pesos are lost annually in conflagrations that run wild and burn everything in their path. Perhaps our LGUs could start saving enough cash to buy fire trucks, or even organize fire brigades and train their members to be competent in battling blazes," he added.

Recto also batted for the purchase of small fire trucks that can negotiate narrow alleys and penetrate areas that are prone to conflagrations, as in many cities in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The recourse was done in Vietnam, where small fire trucks have been employed by authorities on a regular basis to function alongside of big fire engines.

Recto assured that he would support measures that would increase the budget of the BFP for the purchase of fire engines and other equipment while strengthening the national information network for fire prevention.

"I would like to see more modern fire trucks, fire stations and firefighting gear in all cities and towns since we value the lives and property of our citizens," he said.