19th Jan 2023 - 29th Jan 2023
Liberation Blvd Vigan City, ILOCOS REGION, Philippines
Information Sheet For Participants
Our Vision is to reach firefighters worldwide with the gospel of Jesus Christ
and to make disciples of them. (Matthew 28:19-20)
The Mission Goal of Firefighters For Christ is to encourage firefighters to live
their lives for Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
History - After the devastating destruction and loss of over 6,000 lives from Typhoon Yolanda, in November of 2013, Firefighters For Christ sent an Emergency Relief Team to the Philippines to assist with the humanitarian crisis. During this deployment our team met Philippines Bureau of Fire Protection officer Jude Delos Reyes who assisted them greatly with the relief work. This contact began a life-long relationship with FFC and Jude, who later began and now leads our largest FFC Chapter.
In a discussion some time later, Jude requested that FFC consider sending an FFC Training Team on mission to Manila. This first mission took place in January of 2016. Since then, we have conducted a mission trip every year (with the exception of 2021/2022 due to Covid) and have traveled to various locations in the Philippines to conduct this training. Jude has once again requested that FFC bring this training in 2023.
Location for Training - The 2023 training will take place on the Island of Luzon, the largest and most heavily populated island in the Philippines, which includes the capital city of Manila. Training will be conducted in Vigan City, a five- hour drive from Manila, which falls under the jurisdiction of Bureau of Fire Protection’s Region 1. Fire Superintendent Jenny Oasay Farinas, a long-time friend and member of the FFC Chapter, is the BFP Provincial Director for this area. The BFP Regional Director for this area is Chief Superintendent (Brigadier General) Rizza D. Simbajon. The Deputy Chief for Operations is Chief Superintendent (Brigadier General) Wilberto Rico Neil A. Kwan Tiu, who is also a close friend of FFC and fully supports the 2023 Training.
Travel to and from Vigan City will be by BFP bus, departing Manila on Saturday January 21, returning on Saturday January 28.
FFC has been told that there will be approximately 130 BFP Firefighters attending the training.
FFC Team Travel Dates: Departing January 19 and returning January 29, 2023.
Training Dates: January 23-27, 2023.
FFC Team Itinerary of Travel:
(Manila is 15 hours ahead of Pacific StandardTime)
January 19 - FFC Team departs to Philippines.
(approximately a 15 hour flight from Los Angeles -LAX).
January 20 - FFC Team arrives in Manila and checks into hotel (Seda Vertis North Hotel Quezon City, Manila - BFP will book this hotel for FFC Team).
January 21 - FFC Team travels to Vigan City and Checks into hotel (BFP will book hotel for FFC Team).
January 22 - Attend church, scout training sites, Orientation and Briefing from BFP, and prepare training equipment.
January 23-27 - Training period
January 28 - Travel to Manila and check into hotel near airport (FFC Team members book hotel)
January 29 - Depart the Philippines
Training Schedule
Monday January 23
0600 Breakfast for Instructors
0700 FFC Team Devotions
0800Flag Raising Ceremony by BFP
0900Opening and review of the Training Schedule
1000 Personal Rescue Strap and Carabiner Training
1200 Lunch
1300 Drill yard Personal Rescue/Carabiner demonstration
Training Equipment demonstration
Select Teams A, B and C
1600 End of training
1800 Dinner
Tuesday January 24
0600 Breakfast for Instructors
0700 FFC Team Devotions
0800Morning Devotion with students
0900 Auto Extrication - Group A
Wildland Fire Management - Group B
Swift Water Rescue - Group C
1200 Lunch
1300 Auto Extrication - Group A
Wildland Fire Management - Group B
Swift Water - Group C
1600 End of training
1800 Dinner
Wednesday January 25
0600 Breakfast for Instructors
0700 FFC Team Devotions
0800Morning Devotion for students
0900 Auto Extrication - Group B
Wildland Fire Management - Group C
Swift Water - Group A
1200 Lunch
1300Auto Extrication - Group B
Wildland Fire Management - Group C
Swift Water - Group A
1600 End of training
1800 Dinner
Thursday January 26
0600 Breakfast for Instructors
0700 FFC Team Devotions
0800 Morning Devotion for students
0900 Auto Extrication - Group C
Wildland Fire Management - Group A
Swift Water - Group B
1200 Lunch
1300Auto Extrication - Group C
Wildland Fire Management - Group A
Swift Water - Group B
1600 End of training
1800 Dinner
Friday January 27
0600 Breakfast for Instructors
0700 FFC Team Devotions
0800 Morning Devotions for Students
Today's schedule TBD, but will include:
•Training demonstrations
•Plenary session
•Lunch with everyone
•Graduation Ceremony
•Dinner for BFP and FFC Instructors
Other Important Information:
Required and Recommended Vaccinations for Philippines (USA participants see CDC website for current information - www.cdc.gov):
•Required - COVID-19 vaccines for travel to the Philippines. Covid requirements are changing from month to month, but today (10/14/22) the requirement is that you have both Covid vaccinations.
•Up-to-date on all routine vaccines (ie. MMR, etc..)”
•Recommended - Hepatitis A (The duration of protection from a completed course of vaccine can be expected to be at least 25 years).
•Recommended - Hepatitis B (Studies indicate that immunologic memory remains intact for at least 30 years among healthy people who initiated hepatitis B vaccination (CDC).
•Recommended - Typhoid (The injectable vaccine requires a booster every 2 years, and the oral vaccine requires a booster every 5 years.)
Trip Cost:
• The cost of all FFC trips are each member’s responsibility. (approximately $2200 as of 10/15/22):
• Flight - $1833 non-stop roundtrip from LAX (price as of 10/15/22).
•FFC Team members contribution for in country expenses - $200.
•FFC Team members contribution for two hotel stays as listed below.
•Hotel on 1/20/23 per member $35.00 (2 in a $70 room) “Seda Vertis North Hotel Quezon City, Manila”
•Hotel on 1/28/23 per member $40.00 (2 in a $80 room) “Belmont Hotel Manila”.
•FFC clothing as needed.
Note: Reservations for the Belmont Hotel Manila fro 1/28/23 will be made by one person per room. Coordinate this will your roommate.
Travel clothing
A.Black collared “Polo” FFC shirt and Khaki pants with black footwear are used for travel.
B.Travel shirts can be purchased through the FFC App and FFC website (The FFC office has some inventory of Travel shirts).
Training clothing
C.FFC T shirts - short and/or long sleeves. These can be purchased through the FFC app and FFC website (the FFC office has some inventory of T shirts).
D.Long pants and sturdy footwear are mandatory.
E.Wildland firefighting jacket for both Wildland and Auto X training.
F.Gloves and eye protection
G.Boonie cap (see FFC Clothing)
Other clothing
H.Swimming suit - Pool on site.
I.Your Fire Department “ball cap”
Passport:
•Expiration date - As a general rule, passports must be valid for six months beyond the date the traveler will exit the United States.
•New or renewing passport - Processing takes 8-11 weeks for regular service, or up to 5-7 weeks for expedited service (expedited service cost is around $60).
Flight Information (for those leaving from Los Angeles):
Important note: Follow the dates and times below carefully because the Philippines time zone is 15 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time.
Philippines Airlines (non-stop) -
1/19/23 - Depart LAX at 1115 hrs (PST), arrive Manila (9/20/23) at 1855 hrs (Manila time). Flight#PR113
1/29/23 - Depart Manila (MNL) at 1120 hrs (Manila time), arrive LAX at 0815 hrs (PST). Flight#PR112
•Every member leaving from LAX will need to check two equipment bags on 1/19/23 (each passenger on Philippines Airlines is allowed two checked bags and one carry-on at no extra cost).
•The reason for this non-stop flight is for the logistics of the BFP transportation upon arrival, departure time, equipment bags and time of day of arrival and departure.
Flight Information (for those leaving from other locations):
Arrive in Manila at or before 1855 hrs (Manila time) on 1/20/23
Depart from Manila at or after 1120 hrs (Manila time) on 1/29/23
FFC “Statement of Liability” Form:
Complete prior to trip (electronically or hard copy). Request using form below.
Pre-trip Equipment preparation dates and location:
TBD
Religious “Culture” Information
(From “Operation World” Prayer Ministry)
Metro Manila is a mega-city of 13 million people, with the Greater Manila area up to 26 million. It faces enormous challenges, but God is greatly at work here. Modern ministry to the urban poor began in Manila. Many are open to the gospel, but most evangelical churches are in wealthier areas. Nearly 50% of slums and squatter communities have no evangelical church. At the same time, Manila is home to the country’s wealthy elite. Pray that the gospel will impact them also, as they hold much power and the potential to transform Manila and the whole nation.
Church growth among Protestants and Independents continues, but not at the rate of the 1980s and ''90s. The impetus provided by DAWN was an invaluable part of that increase. Growth now occurs in three main ways: smaller congregations plant daughter and granddaughter churches, attendance increases in the megachurches and - unfortunately - churches split. Still, much work remains. Of the Philippines' 42,000 barangays (its smallest government/administrative unit), 23,000 have no evangelical church, and these 23,000 contain 30 million people. Pray for new drive and passion in the vision for and commitment to church planting.
Spiritual vitality does not always equate to biblical truth. Philippines is awash with sects and cults that blend Christian ideas with all manner of false teachings. Some of these are schisms from Catholicism, some are independent groups that sprang from Protestant contexts, some are effectively neo-pagan religions with a Christian veneer. Most feature highly controlling and manipulative leadership and teachings. Pray for all lies to be exposed, and pray for effective Christian apologetics and ministry to the millions caught within these groups.
Leadership development is a priority. Praise God for many Filipino leaders with national and international influence. Yet, even the more than 100 seminaries and Bible colleges and numerous TEE courses have not kept pace with the need. Splits and schisms; often led by those with minimal training and little accountability; have led to doctrinal distortions and moral failures. Many see formal training as an unaffordable luxury or an unnecessary distraction. Graduates are often reluctant to serve in needier rural areas; many emigrate to the USA. Thousands of rural congregations languish without adequate leadership; thousands of pastors struggle to survive on the meagre offerings of their congregations. Pray for such institutions as the Alliance Bible Seminary (CMA), Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary (IMB), ATS, FEBIAS (SEND), APTS in Baguio (AoG), and IGSL (Cru). TOPIC plays a key role in equipping Christian leaders in the Philippines. Pray that God may continue to raise up godly, committed leaders.
“The Culture” of the Bureau of Fire Protection
(General Information from the BFP website and Wikipedia)
“The BFP is responsible for ensuring public safety through the prevention or suppression of all destructive fires on buildings, houses, and other similar structure, forests, and land transportation vehicles and equipment, ships/vessels docked at piers, wharves or anchored at major seaports, petroleum industry installations. It is also responsible for the enforcement of the Fire Code of the Philippines and other related laws, conduct investigations involving fire incidents and causes thereof including the filing of appropriate complaints/cases.”
According to its website, the primary functions of the BFP are:
•Prevention and suppression of all destructive fires;
•Enforcement of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (RIRR) of the Republic Act No. 9514 otherwise known as the Fire Code of the Philippines and other related laws;
•Investigate the causes of fires and if necessary, file a complaint to the city or provincial prosecutor relating to the case;
•In events of national emergency, will assist the military on the orders of the President of the Philippines;
•And establish at least one fire station with all personnel and equipment per municipality and provincial capital.
The BFP was formed from the units of the Integrated National Police's Office of Fire Protection Service on January 29, 1991 through a Republic, which created the present Interior Department and placed the provision of fire services under its control.
In 2021, the BFP Modernization Act, was enacted into law, mandating the implementation of a ten year program to modernize the BFP. The law also enabled the creation of security and protection units (SPUs) in each regional and city fire station and allowed 14 members at most per SPU to bare firearms.
The BFP has a National Headquarters, a Special Rescue/HAZMAT Unit, an Emergency Medical Services, a Special Operations Unit. an Arson Investigation Unit, the Fire Law Enforcement Service, and the Fire National Training Institute.
Each region in the Philippines has its own BFP fire region, headed by a person with the rank of fire chief superintendent (fire brigadier general) or fire senior superintendent (fire colonel).
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief: Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (SILG): Sec. Benjamin Abalos Jr.
Undersecretary for Public Safety, DILG: Usec. Serafin P. Barretto Jr., CESO IV
Chief, Bureau of Fire Protection (C, BFP): Fire Dir. Louie S. Puracan, CEO VI
The Deputy Chief for Administration (TDCA): Fire C/Supt. Roel Jeremy G. Diaz
The Deputy Chief for Operations (TDCO): Fire C/Supt. Wilberto Rico Neil A. Kwan Tiu
The Chief of Directorial Staff (TDCS): Fire C/Supt. Jesus P. Fernandez
Commissioned officers (As of 2021, BFP ranks are equivalent to those in the army.)
Fire Director (Major General)
Fire Chief Superintendent (Brigadier General)
Fire Senior Superintendent (Colonel)
Fire Superintendent (Lieutenant Colonel)
Fire Chief Inspector (Major)
Fire Senior Inspector (Captain)
Fire Inspector (1st Lieutenant)
Non-commissioned officers
Senior Fire Officer 4 (Executive Master Sergeant)
Senior Fire Officer 3 (Chief Master Sergeant)
Senior Fire Officer 2 (Senior Master Sergeant)
Senior Fire Officer 1 (Master Sergeant)
Fire Officer 3 (Staff Sergeant)
Fire Officer 2 (Corporal)
Fire Officer 1 (Fireman)
Vision - A modern fire service fully capable of ensuring a fire safe nation by 2034.
BFP Mission - We commit to prevent and suppress destructive fires, investigate
its causes; enforce Fire Code and other related laws; respond to man-made and natural disasters and other emergencies.
Female Firefighters : Rank and File 30%; Fire Officer Ranks 50% (approximate percentages).