Ensuring business continuity and life safety is as critical as reacting quickly and flexibly to the evolving market environment, emerging risks and customer needs. Thinking ahead is significantly essential for fire safety.

Planners should not compromise fire safety to protect people’s lives. Indeed, fire protection should always be a significant priority in all organizations.

“We have taken significant steps to prioritize community resilience to catastrophic fires as part of a broader effort to prepare Filipinos for these types of disaster impacts today and in the future,” Bureau of Fire Protection chief director Louie Puracan said.

He added the modernization initiative implemented by the government has given firefighters the ability and strength to keep up with modern challenges.

To meet the challenge of the modern era, it is necessary to modernize the BFP for fire fighting, Puracan continued.

The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to artificial fire disasters in urban areas. The risk of catastrophic fires is growing at alarming rates, with a disproportionate impact on low-income and rural communities.

Meanwhile, according to Puracan, the modernization program of the BFP has allowed them to meet the modern challenges of the time, including the increase of the BFP’s fire truck, ambulance and bureau of fire equipment.

Puracan said that in 2024, the government will continue to allocate budget to the BFP for the BFP modernization program.

The BFP also announced that as part of the government’s modernization program, Congress will allocate an additional P3 billion for the modernization of the BFP.

Earlier, the Bureau of Fire Protection received an unmodified opinion from the Commission on Audit for the first time in the fiscal year 2022, earning a perfect score of 20.

Based on the CoA report, BFP received a 93 percent score with a corresponding excellent score from the first Financial Performance Rating report.

It can be recalled that the CoA favored the action of the Bureau of Fire Protection and that the BFP should have a modernization program to keep pace with the modern era.

In this regard, as part of the government’s modernization program in BFP, 54 new fire trucks were distributed to local fire stations in BFP.

DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos said the newly purchased fire truck has a 1,000-gallon capacity. Fire trucks are distributed to fire stations that need more firefighting capabilities.

 “The distribution of these modern and innovative fire trucks proves that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. prioritizes. And the DILG is the safety of our communities and people,” Abalos said.