Lack of water supply worries Cebu City fire dep’t

Local

FIVE hydrants, one fire scene, and not a single usable drop of water.

That, according to city firefighters, has become a recurring reality weeks after Typhoon Tino damaged key water facilities in Metro Cebu.

The Cebu City Fire Station said it continues to struggle with firefighting operations due to low to zero water pressure in several fire hydrants, a problem it attributed to damaged assets of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).

SFO3 Wendell Villanueva, spokesperson of the Cebu City Fire Station, raised the concern during the MyTV Cebu Openline News media forum on Tuesday, Dec.16, where he discussed illegal firecrackers and fire prevention tips this Christmas season.

“We have very talented and skilled personnel. We have readily available equipment. We are not lacking equipment. What we trurly need in the firefighting operation recently, water. This is the problem," Villanueva said.

Villanueva explained that under an existing agreement, MCWD automatically diverts water pressure to the nearest fire scene during a conflagration to allow fire trucks to refill quickly.

However, he said the system has not been functioning properly since Typhoon Tino damaged several water facilities.

“When there was a fire in Barangay Pardo, we went to five hydrants, yet there is no water supply we can suck out,” he said. “If there’s water, the pressure is too low.”

He added that residents often question why water is unavailable in one area during a fire elsewhere, citing cases in Mabolo, Mambaling, and Lahug.

According to Villanueva, pressure diversion is supposed to address this, but current conditions have made it ineffective.

Villanueva said there are still hydrants with sufficient pressure, but these are mostly located in interior portions of communities, which are difficult for fire trucks to access.

Villanueva said hydrants along major highways generally have low to no water supply, while some interior areas still maintain pressure, though accessing these locations is difficult due to narrow roads that slow down fire truck movement.

He emphasized that water remains the most critical element in firefighting operations and warned that any disruption in supply greatly increases the risk of extensive damage and potential loss of life, as firefighters are forced to restart operations when water runs out.

In response, the fire station has intensified its appeal for public vigilance, cautioning that alternative water sources cannot always be relied upon during emergencies.

“God forbid there will be fire, it is not good to get water from the sea because the fire trucks will be destroyed since salty water will make fire trucks rusty,” Villanueva said.

The firefighters’ concerns come as MCWD continues to defend its post-Typhoon Tino restoration efforts.

Earlier, MCWD pushed back against criticism from Cebu City Councilor Harold Go, who described the water district’s recovery as slow and uneven, saying thousands of households were still experiencing unstable or no water supply more than a month after the typhoon.

MCWD said Typhoon Tino caused catastrophic damage to major transmission lines, particularly the 2.6-kilometer Jaclupan transmission line, and maintained that restoration was completed in a turnaround time that water experts consider exceptional given the scale of destruction.

While MCWD insists its recovery work met industry standards, the Cebu City Fire Station said the lingering effects of the typhoon remain evident on the ground, where unreliable hydrant pressure continues to complicate emergency response across the city.(MyTVCebu)