Ermita youths train to help fight fires, conduct rescue operations

ELEVEN youths in Barangay Ermita have acquired skills to fight fires and conduct rescue operations in this densely populated area in Cebu City.

The youths volunteered to undergo the Basic Firefighting, First-Aid and Rescue Operations Training organized by the Cebu Private Power Corp. (CPPC), which began on May 30 and ended on June 1, 2016.

During the culmination of the training, the trainees held a simulation of a firefighting in Sitio Bato, Barangay Ermita.

CPPC, a joint venture of Aboitiz Power Corporation and Vivant Corporation, conducted the training upon the request of barangay officials in fire-prone Ermita.

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(We looked for a project that would involve the youth so that they can help during emergency situations, like fire),” said Ermita Barangay Councilor Domingo Ando Jr. He said that the trainees come from five different sitios in Ermita so they will become the first responders should fire break out in their areas.

Kimbert Kangkee, 27, a botong (young coconut) vendor, said that he joined the training so that he would know how to help during fires.

SFO4 Jimmy Layao, Bureau of Fire Protection San Nicolas Substation fire marshal, said that the BFP welcomes the assistance of CPPC in capacitating barangays to respond to fires. He said the BFP, like other government agencies, has limited resources so it needs the help of the private sector, particularly through raising awareness and equipment donation.

CPPC, which operates a 70-MW (megawatt) bunker-fired power plant in Ermita, also donated a set of fire hose and nozzle, as well as a fire hydrant to the barangay. Water supply to the fire hydrant will come from CPPC.

The training and donation are among the projects of CPPC’s corporate social responsibility program, which also includes support to Barangay Ermita’s waterways declogging program and the Environmental Management Bureau’s Adopt-A-River/Estero project.