By Anne Hazel F. Flores
PIA
SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union—With the aim of promoting gender awareness development, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) regional office staged the 1st all-female regional fire Olympics on April 19 and 20, 2018 at the Poro Point Baywalk.
The BFP Region 1 office grouped the 75 female contenders into five teams according to their agency’s offices and competed for the championship trophy.
The female competitors showed and proved that they are also capable of doing a man’s job as a fireman as they competed in games patterned after the actual work of firefighters.
“Through the years, women have indeed proven that they are no longer the weaker sex but as strong as their male counterparts,” BFP regional director F/Sr. Supt. Maria Sofia B. Mendoza said.
She added: “A lot of women have excelled in different fields but now in the fire service, an organization dominated by men, we women firefighters are empowered because we have been given an equal opportunity in terms of personal and professional growth.”
BFP generally station women in the bureau in the office, tasked to perform administrative works, but this event showed that they are also capable of being in the field.
BFP Regional Office 1 emerged as the over-all champion; followed by BFP La Union; Ilocos Sur in third place and the Pangasinan and Ilocos Norte in fourth and fifth places, respectively.
BFP conducted the activity in partnership with the local government unit of San Fernando and the Poro Point Management Corporation (PPMC).
To further empower their women employees, the bureau also conducted a “Firefighters’ Summit” at a resort hotel in San Juan, La Union on April 23, 2018.
“We women may not have the strength like our male counterparts but we have the determination and the will to do our job well as protectors of lives and properties,” said Ms. Mendoza.