An official of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Tuesday said the agency would be practically helpless in the face of such a catastrophe, mainly because of the lack of high-end equipment such as helicopters and chemical fire trucks.

“When a fire occurs in the Pandacan area, when that is affected by an earthquake, definitely sir, the BFP cannot cope with the job,” Chief Supt. Victoriano Remedio, director for operations, told the Senate committee on climate change chaired by Sen. Loren Legarda during a hearing on disaster preparedness Tuesday.

Remedio said the bureau “really has no capability,” noting that its equipment were limited to dealing primarily with low-rise buildings.

He said the BFP had “very limited” equipment such as fire trucks with ladders that could reach high-rise buildings.

‘I’m sorry, sir’

“Unless we are provided, maybe with specific equipment ... perhaps, sir, we can do it, but as of now, I am sorry, sir,” he said.

Sought for comment after the hearing, Remedio warned that the BFP was also ill-equipped in dealing with hazardous materials in the event of an earthquake similar to the one that hit Japan on March 11.

Remedio’s remedy

Remedio said one remedy was for higher authorities to consider allowing the BFP to handle such scenarios and provide the agency with sufficient equipment.

“Because often, the BFP is the one called to respond because there’s no other agency that responds to such a situation,” Remedio said in Filipino.

He noted that many hospitals and industrial companies kept hazardous chemicals, which could leak in case of an earthquake. “How can we fix the leak if we have no equipment to use?” he asked.

The BFP usually requests funds for additional equipment for hazardous materials at the annual budget deliberations in Congress, according to Remedio.

But he said the agency was usually rebuffed and told: “That is not your concern.”

Bridges, LRT stations

Raul Asis, public works undersecretary for technical services, said there were still 20 bridges in Metro Manila that would require retrofitting in accordance with current structural standards.

Among them is Ayala Bridge near Malacañang, Asis said at the hearing.

The old line of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) was also in the process of rehabilitation, according to Adelo Jandayan, safety and security division manager of the LRT Authority (LRTA).

He said rehabilitation would take three years and need a hefty budget.

Jandayan said the LRTA was particularly monitoring the effect of liquefaction on the concrete column connecting the LRT’s Carriedo and Central stations, which are near the Pasig River.

As part of readiness measures, local city and town engineers have also started reassessing the structural soundness of public schools, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said Tuesday.

School buildings

Luistro said local government officials initiated a fresh round of building inspections amid successive temblors in the region and minor quakes in the country.

“All school buildings are now being reassessed. It actually started last year,” Luistro told reporters.

“LGUs (local government units) are taking the lead in looking at the structural integrity of school buildings. The local engineering departments have the capability to check and it’s better for an independent team to check,” he said.

Building code

Luistro expressed confidence that schools not older than five years could withstand tremors because these were built in accordance with the building code.

“The older ones are assessed regularly by the LGU engineering department. That’s why you’ll hear about buildings or classrooms being condemned every now and then,” he said.

Oliver Hernandez, chief engineer of the Department of Education, said recently that public schools were designed to withstand earthquakes of up to intensity 7.

This level of intensity, a measure of the impact of an earthquake’s strength on structures, people and their surroundings, is equivalent to a magnitude of 5.9 to 6.9 on the US Geological Survey scale.

“There is a factor of safety in the design. If the quake is stronger than intensity 7, like 7.2 or 7.5, the buildings will be damaged. And if another earthquake happens without repairs being done, the buildings might not withstand it anymore,” Hernandez said.

The engineer said some 12 schools in Metro Manila were found to have vulnerable buildings in an assessment done two years ago.

Christian Esguerra & Tarra Quismondo, Phil. Daily Inquirer