Cebu City’s Pari-an Fire Station was the first fire station ever built in Visayas and Mindanao. | CDN Photo/ Emmariel Ares
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A walk around the barangay of Pari-an in Cebu City takes you around several heritage sites that will bring you back to the Spanish colonial period.
The district, located near the historical Colon street, has become a must-visit destination for those looking for a preview of the lives of the early Cebuanos.
From the Jesuit House, the Yap Sandiego Ancestral House, Casa Gorordo Museum, and the iconic Cebu Heritage Monument – the area showcases so much of the history of the island of Cebu.
Unbeknownst to many, however, there is another structure that has been there long before Cebu City became a major business center in the country.
A seemingly modern-looking fire station in the middle of the main street turns out to be one of the oldest fire stations in the whole Philippines.
The Pari-an Fire Station comes second to the Tanduay fire station located in Manila.
It is also the first fire station established in Visayas and Mindanao.
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Fire Officer 3 (FO3) Fulbert Navarro, lead investigator of the Cebu City Fire Station (CCFS), told CDN Digital that the barangay’s fire substation has been operational for 118 years.
The fire station was initially part of the convent of the barangay’s parish church. | Contributed photo
It was first established as a fire station in the year 1907. Since then, a few renovations and paint jobs have been done to maintain the building’s exterior.
Navarro narrated that the structure was initially a part of the convent of the San Bautista Church.
After the church was demolished during the Spanish colonization period, it was used as a “gremio” or guild for the association of Filipino-Chinese traders living in the area, which was known then as a trading hub.
This photo was taken from the second floor of the building sometime in 1915. | Contributed photo
During the revolution, it served as a field hospital for the wounded Spanish soldiers.
When the Spanish forces were defeated, it became a municipal hall and seat of power for the Philippine Revolutionary Government in Cebu.
Under the American forces, the second edifice of the building was turned into a military garrison. The first edifice, on the other hand, was made into a fire station.
During this time, firefighters would respond to fire incidents using horse-drawn carriages. | Contributed photo
According to Navarro, the World War 2 caused the destruction of the building, together with most of the establishments in the island. It was considered as a military target and was bombed down during the war.
It was around the year 1954 that the fire station was rebuilt.
Navarro shared that there is only one document from the past that mentions the fire station in Brgy. Pari-an – making it difficult to accurately pinpoint the exact time it was reconstructed.
“There was no written record actually of the station. The only written record in existence that mentions the fire station is in a Supreme Court case. It was decided around 1917 nga case,” he said.
The new building featured an American style of architecture with a large apparatus floor and a spacious upper edifice. The structure, made entirely of concrete, ensured that the building would remain strong and unaffected by any earthquakes or other natural disasters in the years to come.
Its old fire watch tower, which was manned by one person until the late 90s, has been transformed into a clock water and unveiled to the public last February 25, 2025.
In Cebu City, only three fire substations were built with poles that were previously used by the firefighters to quickly slide down to the lower ground in only seconds.
The Pari-an fire station has two solid copper poles on each side and one in the middle of the building. These poles, however, have been left unused since 2022 after it was deemed to be unsuitable for use due to safety concerns.
Navarro said that they opted for the use of stairs instead as it was safer and still allowed the personnel to quickly move from their sleeping quarters to the firetruck when responding to emergencies.
Today, the station has a total of six offices that houses the Pari-an Fire Station firefighting crew, the Fire Safety Enforcement Section, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Motorpool section, Logistics Section, and Office of the Investigation and Intelligence Section.
FO3 Fulbert Navarro and Senior Fire Officer 4 Justo Fernandez Jr., commander of Pari-an Fire Substation, stand in front of the station which has been operating for 118 years. | CDN Photo/ Emmariel Ares
After more than a hundred years, the Pari-an Fire Station remains to be the barangay’s most essential local-level disaster management resource, providing a workplace for the brave men and women who put their own lives at risk to save others.
Its historical significance, however, is a fact that more people must know for them to fully appreciate how it came to be over the years, stated Navarro.
It is essential for the public to know how the fire station witnessed the growth of Brgy. Pari-an from a bustling business center to a lavish livelihood area in the previous decades.
Despite not being an official heritage site, the Pari-an Fire Station holds a rich history that reflects the growth of the whole island of Cebu. | CDN Photo/ Emmariel Ares
This way, residents and tourists alike pass by the barangay’s fire station and be reminded of its rich history as one of the first fire stations ever built in the entire Philippines. /clorenciana