KORONADAL CITY FIRE MARSHAL SHARES THIS YEAR’S WINNING MOMENTS
Koronadal City Fire Marshal Erika C. Pedrosa’s face lights up as she enters the room to begin an interview and share inspiring moments after her station was named the Best City Fire Station for this year, just days before her first anniversary as the head of the Koronadal City Fire Station.
In a recent exclusive interview, Pedrosa first acknowledged the efforts of the city government of Koronadal. She said they were able to retain one of the most coveted awards from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) regional level again because of the unending support of the local government unit (LGU) Koronadal.
“Malaki ang role ng city. Through the help of our very supportive city mayor Eliordo U. Ogena, lahat ng BFP programs is laging naka-back up kaya siya na-implement. Malaki ang role ng city kung bakit nakuha ang pagiging Best City Fire Station. ” Pedrosa said.
Koronadal City Fire Station (KCFS) got its back-to-back win as the “Best City Fire Station” in Region XII for two consecutive years. The awarding ceremony was held on August 30, 2022, during the 31st Anniversary of the Bureau of Fire Protection at the Maya Pavilion, Cinco Niñas, City of Koronadal.
Last year, the KCFS, which was then headed by its City Fire Marshal, CInsp. Jonathan Gazo, got the same award. Gazo is currently the BFP Provincial Director.
According to the lady fire marshal, leading KCFS is indeed a big challenge for her. She was well aware that handling such a responsibility was no laughing matter, but there was no turning back for her. She knew that she had to do something, work a little harder, and give her best shot.
Pedrosa said the pressure was so high that she didn’t even expect to have a back-to-back win this time as she is no match compared to the former city fire marshal’s achievements. At first, it was hard for her to convince herself that she could do it. Eventually, she braved all the challenges and encouraged her team to work very hard to get the victory they all deserved.
“Na-overwhelmed ako kasi hindi ko rin in-expect na makukuha ulit kasi kasi ang pressure ang taas, kailangan pantayan o higitan. Ang mga tao ko nagdo-double time mag-work.” Pedrosa said.
ABOUT THE AWARD
Every August of each year, during the anniversary celebration of the BFP, part of the program is the region-wide search for the Organizational Unit Award, which comprises the Best Municipal Fire Station of the Year, Best City Fire Station of the Year, and Best Provincial Fire Station of the Year. Based on the Revised BFP Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence or PRAISE, the criteria of the said award include the Implementation of Fire Protection Program, the Overall Appearance of the City Fire Station, and Personnel Readiness.
Basing on the first criterion, which is the implementation of the fire protection program, Pedrosa said the BFP-Koronadal has somehow implemented these programs. In terms of “Oplan Ligtas Pamayanan” (OLP), the Koronadal City fire truck regularly wanders around the city to share its information, education, and communication (IEC) campaigns, conduct fire safety awareness programs, and promote other programs coming from the regional office as well as the national headquarters. Despite the very limited amount of resources at her station, Pedrosa said they have managed to implement such programs effectively and efficiently, with the help of her personnel as well as the support of the LGU-Koronadal.
As for the overall appearance of the fire station, Pedrosa considered her station a “not-your-typical-fire-station.” Currently, the Koronadal City Fire Station occupies the site of the former Koronadal City Police Station. Thus, to make it more presentable for their clients and to prepare for this year’s award, Pedrosa sought support from the city government to have the fire station renovated.
In terms of Personnel Readiness, BFP-Koronadal is always on-the-go. The lady fire marshal noted that they are ready to respond to vehicular accidents, medical emergencies, and requests from their clients.
BREAKING THE NEWS
When the day came for the announcement of the winners, Pedrosa shared how she prayed hard for them to get the back-to-back awards.
“Hindi ako nag-a-assume pero nag-wi-wish ako na sana makuha namin siya. I’m praying na sana makuha ng Koronadal”, Pedrosa said.
She recalled being both emotional and excited after learning that they had won the award. She said she found out about the news the night before the award ceremony. Every drop of blood, sweat, and tears they shed to make it the second time around was worth it for her.
“Noong malaman ko na, mixed emotions, emotional kasing tao. Binibigyan ko rin ng importansiya ang morale ng personnel natin kasi once nalaman nila na mag-best kami, bukod sa akin, may higit pang mas masaya dahil sila ang nasa frontline, sila ang nagtatrabaho, ako ang nag-guide lamang sa kanila.”
She continued, “Pinost ko sa group chat namin at sabi ko, confirmed, nakuha natin ang Best Station. two-peat, back-to-back na, eh. I know very deserving naman lalong-lalo na para sa mga personnel ko na working horse natin. Sila ang nagtatrabaho, day and night. Sa group, advance info lang, nakuha natin.”
Pedrosa also shared this award with the city government of Koronadal, who right from the very start supported them.
“Hindi ko rin pinahiya si Mayor sa lahat ng tulong na ibinigay nila sa amin at ang very active and supportive na CDRMM Officer, Sir Cyrus Urbano. Lahat ng activity namin never siya nag-NO. Kasi ang iba naming funds naka-align sa kanila. So, lagi po silang naka-alalay sa amin”, “Pedrosa revealed.
THE AWARDING
During the awarding ceremony, Pedrosa shared the stage with BFP Regional Director CSupt Alven D. Valdez and its guest speaker, CSC Director IV Resurrection P. Pueyo to personally receive the Best City Fire Station of the Year award. Aside from the plaque, she also received a cash prize courtesy of RD Valdez and a memento.
When she finally got the award, Pedrosa had this to say, “Masasabing papel lang yan, trophy, pero iba yong dugo’t pawis na nilagay ng personnel namin para ma-achieve yong award na yan.”
According to this Antipolo, Rizal native, this is not the first time that she tried her luck to get the Best Fire Station Award. Pedrosa tried her luck when she became the Municipal Fire Marshal in Region 10. Admittedly, she said that she fell short of winning the award during that time because she was not as passionate as she is right now.
LEADING KORONADAL CITY FIRE STATION
Before she was assigned to lead Koronadal City Fire Station, Pedrosa was the head of the Administrative Division at the BFP Regional Office. She was in-charge of the administrative matters such as the recruitment process, training the recruits, appointment processing, renewal of appointments, personnel promotion, reassignment, and leave processing. Not until she was offered by her Regional Director to lead Koronadal City Fire Station.
She wasn’t sure if she would accept such a responsibility at first because, as far as she could remember, the largest fire station she had handled was a municipal fire station with only 300 establishments, all of which were sari-sari stores.
“Noong una, parang hindi ko kakayanin kasi sanay ako sa mga papel. Laking Admin po ako eh. Nakapag-station naman ako noon, pero sobrang liit. Noon, ang hinahawakan ko ay 300 establishments at puro sari-sari stores pa kumpara sa Koronadal City na almost 6,000 establishments,” Pedrosa explained.
On August 23, 2021, Pedrosa took the courage to lead KCFS as its Officer-in-Charge (OIC) City Fire Marshal.
“Sabi ni Sir, kaya mo yan. So, nadagdagan muli ang pressure. Sige po Sir, kakayanin ko po Sir kung ganyan po kalaki yong tiwala n’yo Sir. Nahiya po naman ako. Isang malaking challenge po ito sa akin kasi bago po ito para sa akin since city nga siya, daming kailangan i-consider, sobrang laki ang dapat i-consider”, Pedrosa added.
THE PROMOTION
Before she could finally finish her interview, Pedrosa was interrupted by a personal message from her computer. She excused herself for a while. When she came back to talk to me again, she gave some details about the promotion she was expecting.
According to her, approximately 200 personnel are qualified for the national promotions, but only 85 will be considered.
Pedrosa was expecting to be promoted to Chief Inspector.
After wrapping up our interview, we both hoped to receive good news that same day. She promised to let me know about her much-awaited promotion as soon as possible.
Pedrosa finally shared her promotion early the next day and will have her oathtaking ceremony on the 5th of September, 2022 at the BFP National Headquarters in Quezon City.
Indeed, year 2022 is the lucky year for Chief Inspector Pedrosa!