By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) recently passed a resolution requesting the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to provide the Bacolod City Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) with a fire truck.
The resolution, authored by City Councilor Em Ang, said the ideal number of fire trucks should be one for every 28,000 citizens. Currently, the city has seven serviceable fire trucks with a population of 579,101, making it a ratio of one fire truck for every 82,729 people.
“Having a fire truck could appropriately respond, not only to fires, but to any emergency involving high rise buildings and structures,” she explained.
Meanwhile, the Negros Island Region (NIR) BFP turned over emergency vehicles, including two fire trucks, to the Negros Occidental provincial government, which were distributed to six local government units (LGUs) in the province.
Candoni and Ilog each received a fire truck, along with an ambulance; while four ambulances were distributed to Cauayan, Hinobaan, Kabankalan City, and Sipalay City. The latter also received a rescue van./WDJ