Abelgas (center) city fire marshal ababon (left)
CDN PHOTO/BENJIE TALISIC
FIRE PREVENTION MONTH
His mother, Gregoria, would always encourage her 13 children to pursue a better paying job with a private firm.
But defying his mother’s wishes, Senior Fire Officer 4 (SFO4) Jovito Abelgas opted to follow the footsteps of his father, Retired Fire Senior Supt. Catalino Abelgas, once the director of the Bureau of Fire Protection in Central Visayas (BFP-7) during the 1980s.
Catalino retired from service in 1982.
After spending almost 28 years in active service, SFO4 Abelgas said, he remains happy with his decision to become a public servant.
“I am happy right now because aside from having a stable job, I am able to help my countrymen,” he told Cebu Daily News.
SFO4 Abelgas, 51, is now the commander of the Cebu City fire substation in Barangay Labangon.
He is also the operations chief of the Cebu City Fire Department located along Natalio Bacalso Avenue.
Abelgas, a mechanical engineering graduate, could no longer count the number of times that he responded to a fire emergency since joining the BFP on April 16, 1990.
He recalled that after graduating from college in 1988, he immediately applied for employment as an electrician in a Cebu-based company.
He kept his work for only a year before finally deciding to pursue his dream of becoming a fireman just like his father.
The eighth of 13 siblings, Abelgas was the only one in the family who joined the bureau.
His father, Catalino, tried to convince his older brother to also undergo training with the BFP, but the latter decided to pursue private employment.
Abelgas said that his mother discouraged all her children from joining the fire bureau citing its very low pay.
He recalled his mother telling them that a fireman’s salary was never enough to take care of the needs of her 13 children.
But Abelgas went to join the BFP anyway; and while life has not been easy, he has learned to manage.
Life as a fireman
His first assignment was at the Naga City Fire station where he was deployed for almost two years before his transfer to the Cebu City Fire Department.
Abelgas said that almost every fire alarm that he responded to placed his life and personal security at risk, but he does not mind as his service to the country and the community comes first to him.
“Naa sa akong huna huna nga ako gyud pawngon ang kayo dayon (I put in mind that I should be able to put out the fire as soon as I can),” he said.
He also feels blessed that his wife and children support his chosen profession.
Abelgas recalled that during his first year of service, he was only getting paid P1,800 a month.
The amount included his housing , clothing and rice allowances.
Abelgas said that on his second year, his monthly salary increased by P1,000. When he was assigned to the Cebu City Fire Department, another P800 was added as subsidy from the Cebu City government.
“I could say that the money I was getting before was already enough (for my needs) since the prices of goods were cheaper then,” he told CDN.
He also does not mind the 24-hour work schedule which comes with a rest day after.
Near death experience
Aside from the risks that comes with firefighting, Abelgas said, firemen also have to endure the wrath of victims who would often accuse them of not responding quickly to the fire alarm. There are times when victims would also blame them for the loss of their homes.
Abelgas recalled a time in 1996 when he was almost stabbed by an irate victim while responding to a fire alarm in Barangay Mambaling.
Abelgas recounted that while he was trying to douse the fire, a man who wanted to save his burning house first, suddenly tried to grab the water hose away from his hands.
Unable to gain possession of the hose, the man left the area only to return with a knife aimed at Abelgas later.
Bystanders and other firefighters managed to pacify the man.
In another incident, Abelgas said, he witnessed a colleague die while responding to a fire alarm in Gemsville Subdivision, Barangay Lahug on June 14, 1999.
Fire Officer 1 Crispin Ynoc was killed after being run over by a parked BFP fire truck that rolled down from the upper portion of the subdivision and into Ynoc who was busy putting out the blaze which ate up several houses in the area.
”It was a traumatic experience because Ynoc was one of my personnel,” Abelgas told CDN.
But life must go on, said Abelgas.
When duty calls
Abelgas said that since fires cannot be predicted, firefighters are always on call.
He would report for work at 8 a.m. and stay at headquarters for 24-hours.
At least four firefighters are required to go on duty at the same time on 24-hour shifts.
If there are no alarms, Abelgas spends time doing paper work wearing only office clothes.
On the average, at least one fire alarm is reported each day, said Abelgas.
Calls for assistance are made through the BFP radio base. The alarm will then be referred to the nearest fire substation.
After hearing the distress call, firemen would run to the locker room and change into their personal protective suits that include coats, trousers, boots and gloves.
They make sure to be suited within 10 counts before sliding down a metal pole which would bring them to the parking area of their trucks.
At least four fireman would board each of the responding fire trucks.
With sirens on full blast, the fire trucks would then rush to the scene as fast as they could, said Abelgas.
Normally, one truck is deployed when the fire is placed under first alarm, two trucks for a second alarm, and three fire trucks respond to a third alarm.
Barangay fire trucks and those from nearby cities and towns respond when “task force alpha” is declared.