THE OFFICE of the Civil Defense (OCD) XI bared plans to establish community-level fire brigades, especially in high-density urban areas.
Ednar Dayanghirang, OCD XI regional director, said the office will collaborate with the Davao City Disaster Risk Disaster and Management Office, the Davao City Fire District, and the Davao City Water District (DCWD) for the project.
“We will divide those communities into blocks then DCWD will provide the fire hydrants. We’ll support by providing hoses and we’ll train and organize the team,” he said. “This will establish fire suppression activities among the locals,” Dayanghirang said.
Dayanghirang said they will commence the community fire brigade at Barangay 76-A and urged also other local communities to prepare for the said initiative. He shared that the barangay chief, Roberto Olan-olan committed to buying the fire hoses from their funds if the program pushes through.
Each 50-meter fire hose costs between P35,000 and P37,000, he said.
He said fire brigades will differ in each community, depending on the area where they are situated and what possible resources are close to their location.
“We will design what is desired per community. We will also convince the mayors and other local communities for this,” he added.
For now, Dayanghirang said they’re still waiting for the approval and coordination of the different departments and local government units to kick off the community fire brigades.
He also stressed that this will uphold volunteerism and the spirit of bayanihan among various communities.
