SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro (PIA) – The Bureau of Fire Protection San Jose Fire Station opened its doors to selected students for them to learn about fire safety and experience the work of firefighters.
The activity, March 12, dubbed “Open House,” featured four different stations highlighting BFP’s main functions: emergency and disaster response, firefighting and fire prevention.
The first booth focused on emergency response, where students were taught how to properly administer first aid, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The second booth featured firefighting safety gear. Here, the students also learned how to safely extinguish a fire from a liquefied petroleum gas tank using a wet towel.
Interns learned about the different gear used by firefighters in rappelling in the third booth, one of the basic skills a firefighter must know to navigate remote areas. Each intern had an opportunity to rappel from the third floor of the BFP building to the ground with the guidance and help of firefighters.
Laica B. Encado, one of the students,, shared that the activity helped her understand more about firefighters’ jobs.
“Mahirap, pero para po sa mga kababayan or para po sa mga ibang tao na nangangailangan, andiyan po sila para tumulong,” she said. (It is difficult, but for Filipinos and for those who are in need, they are there to help.)
About 50 students, comprising Grade 1 pupils from Beulah Land Christian School and college interns from Occidental Mindoro State College and Philippine Central Islands College, participated in the Open House.
The first three booths were prepared for the college interns, while the Grade 1 pupils underwent fire safety instructions in the fourth booth. The children were taught how to safely crawl out of a building in case of fire and experienced sliding down a pole from the second floor to the first floor with the help of fire officers under the supervision of their parents in a separate station.
The Open House activity is one of the BFP’s initiatives to intensify its fire safety campaign during this month’s observance of Fire Prevention Month.
In his opening remarks, San Jose Fire Marshall Rogelio O. Cabalse Jr. emphasized that fire safety is not the bureau’s responsibility alone but a shared duty between the government and the community. (DSG/PIA MIMAROPA-Occidental Mindoro)
