Teams from the six provinces of Western Visayas showed their capability in responding to emergencies during Wednesday’s Regional Fire Olympics organized by the Bureau of Fire Protection in Region 6 (BFP 6).

“The fire Olympics is an annual event of the Bureau of Fire Protection not just for us to showcase our capability but also to enhance our capability. We are practicing and re-practicing, we do this every day because this is our job,” BFP 6 regional director, Senior Supt. Roderick P. Aguto said, in an interview.

He added that the event shows the capability of firefighters as they conduct inspection, first aid, firefighting, and fire prevention demo.

The event, Aguto said, will also serve as a venue for them to pick the best firefighters to represent the region in the national Olympics to mark Fire Prevention Month in March next year.

“We will be picking the best of the best from these provinces to compete for the National Fire Olympics in March,” he said.

Aguto said BFP has 200 personnel trained to become members of the special rescue unit (SRU), considered as their elite group.

These members have been distributed to various provincial offices of the BFP to perform tasks that require their expertise in times of emergency.

The trained SRU personnel were among those who joined in the competition who performed ascending, traversing, and descending skills to rescue victims situated in high-rise buildings.

Aguto said the BFP is always ready to respond at any time. The only challenge is “when was the first call made”.

“The BFP personnel were just in the stations willing to respond,” he said. (PNA)