Acting Mayor of Cebu City, Hon. Raymond Alvin Garcia, and UP Cebu Chancellor Atty. Leo Malagar, together with FireCheck 2.0 Project Leader Dr. Jonnifer Sinogaya and Cebu City Councilor and Chairperson of the City Council’s Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction Management, Hon. Joel Garganera signed the Memorandum of Agreement for the collaborative implementation of the FireCheck 2.0 project on December 14 in Cebu City Hall.
FireCheck 2.0 is an urban fire hazard mapping and investment planning project covering fire-prone Cebu City. It introduces innovations in fire prevention using GIS and data science. It intends to produce fire hazard maps, neighborhood evacuation plans, and firefighting investment plans in cooperation with local disaster risk offices and fire stations.
It is funded by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) through its Innovation Grants. Ten barangays in Cebu City will serve as both the project beneficiaries and collaborators. It will also establish one (1) firefighting facility at one of its selected project sites.
Dr. Jonnifer Sinogaya was happy to announce that the FireCheck 2.0 project is one of the 25 approved projects out of the 300 who applied for the NEDA research grant. Lead researcher Mr. Jao Bañados and senior data analyst Mr. Ryan Dulaca presented the objectives, the timeline of the project, and the highlights of the MOA signed between UP Cebu and the local government of Cebu City.
Acting Mayor Alvin Garcia expressed his happiness that the project will benefit Cebu City while highlighting the importance of collaboration between sectors to develop viable projects that will have a significant positive impact at the grass-roots level.
Meanwhile, Hon. Garganera committed to looking for more funds to be able to install more firefighting facilities in the city that could be used for emergency purposes such as fire or drought.
Also present to witness the MOA signing were UP Cebu Vice-Chancellor for Administration Hazel Trapero, UP Cebu College of Science-Science Research and Training Center Director Percival Forcadilla, and Insp. Pier Angelo Abellana from the Cebu City Fire Station.
FireCheck 2.0 is a spin-off of the FireCheck project funded by the Department of Science and Technology—Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD). It was implemented in the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu from 2018–2020.
