By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Around 200 new members of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Bacolod will formally start their training at the Panaad Park and Stadium on May 11.
BFP-Negros Island Region (NIR) Director, Fire Senior Superintendent Fred Trajeras, said, of the 200 participants, 83 are from the NIR while the rest are either from Cebu or other parts of Western Visayas.
Trajeras said the training will be a first for the BFP-NIR, after their national headquarters agreed to put a satellite training ground in the region, aside from the National Training Center (NTC) in the province of Laguna.
The regional director also stressed he’s been pushing for Bacolod to host the training program, as it could take years for the rookie firefighters to wait before they could properly train at the NTC Laguna facility, which has a capacity of only 600.
After their oath taking ceremony, the new firefighters will undergo Fire Basic Recruit Course that will last until September 11 this year before attaining the permanent rank of Fire Officer 1 (FO1)./WDJ