DAVAO DEL NORTE, Philippines (PIA) – Firemen are mandated to save lives during fire incidents and even other emergency cases, Panabo City fire marshal Senior Insp. Randolp Arbotante underscored.

He said firemen, aside from preventing and suppressing fire, can also handle medical response and water search and rescue operations.

“We can even save lives of animals which are in danger,” Arbotante said as he revealed that his fire team in Panabo City was able to rescue a python last year and turned it over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

He said firemen now are multi-skilled and now know how to handle hazardous chemical spillage which forms part of their training on Chemical Biological Radiation Nuclear and Explosive Training.

“Trainors from the United States and Canada provided us the training,” he said in an interview after the Kapihan sa Kapitolyo Saturday.

He noted that the public is not aware of the services that firemen can do other than preventing and suppressing fire.

Arbotante told PIA about a vehicular accident that elements of Panabo Fire Station responded.

“Mali yata ang natawagan natin (I think we made a wrong call),” he recalled a man saying when firemen arrived at the scene.

He said firemen can respond to victims of stabbing incident, choking, heart attack and other medical emergencies, and they can be of help in drowning incidents because they are also trained on under water rescue operation.