A lawmaker has urged the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to acquire fireboats and helitankers capable of suppressing possible blazes, including oil spill fires, along the Pasig River.
LPG-MA Rep. Arnel Ty, House public order and safety committee member, said “The Sta. Ana oil depot spill has highlighted the risk of potential Pasig River fire disasters that we may not be able to contain right away, because the BFP does not have any assets capable of fighting fires from our waterways and from the air.”
Ty, a Filipino-Chinese fire brigade volunteer, said that though a fire tragedy was averted, an oil station’s accidental discharge of thousands of liters of bunker fuel into the Pasig River nonetheless caused panic among Sta. Ana, Manila residents who were overwhelmed by gas fumes.
“Fireboats and helitankers might be wise investments to reinforce the BFP’s fire-fighting capability, considering we have many communities and businesses along the Pasig River,” Ty said.
Fireboats are specialized vessels with pumps and water cannons for fighting riverside, shoreline and shipboard fires. Helitankers are choppers fitted with water receptacles, or mounted with fire-fighting foam cannons.
Fireboats and helitankers can siphon water from rivers, lakes and open reservoirs, so they can also be highly practical when water mains and fire hydrants are busted by an earthquake, Ty pointed out.
Accidental oil fire disasters are a constant risk, according to Ty, also House energy committee member.
“In America and other countries, they’ve had oil fires that many said would never happen. The fires were caused by blasts while leaks were being fixed, or by blow ups during fuel transfers,” Ty said.
“But the biggest oil fire hazards may be posed by natural disasters. All over the world, there have been oil fires caused by earthquakes, tsunamis and lightning strikes during severe storms,” he added.
Last year, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim rejected for the second time a proposed city ordinance seeking to reclassify the 33-hectare Pandacan oil depot from an industrial to a commercial district.
The reclassification would have compelled Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Chevron Philippines Inc. (formerly Caltex Philippines Inc.) and Petron Corp. to dismantle and relocate their existing distribution terminals at the depot.
The fate of the oil depot is now up to the new Manila city council led by former President and now mayor-elect Joseph Estrada.
The post Solon urges BFP to acquire fireboats, helitankers appeared first on Remate.