BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: The Training Centre of the Fire and Rescue Department yesterday held a guard of honour parade to mark the 53rd anniversary of the department. The event was held at the marching field of the centre, Borneo Bulletin reported.
The guest of honour was Yang Berhormat Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman, the Minister of Home Affairs.
Also present was Pehin Data Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs.
Upon arrival, the minister was welcomed by Awang Yahya bin Haji Abd Rahman, Director of the Fire and Rescue Department and received a salute prior to the inspection of the guard of honour which presented 90 Fire and Rescue personnel.
YB Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin highlighted the importance of providing excellent service in providing security for the safety and well-being of the public.
The minister also gave statistics of fire breakouts that occurred in 2012 with 108 calls recorded of which 60 per cent was house fires and 40 per cent building fires.
He then revealed that the estimated loss was approximately $4 million, whereas the estimated worth of properties that have been saved was almost equally high.
According to the minister, the Fire and Rescue Department found out that one of the major sources of the breakouts of fire that have been identified was frequently due to negligence such as equipment and electrical wiring which includes the overload usage of electricity, short circuit, gas leakage, among others.
“In this matter, the general public should be reminded and the department should also raise awareness to provide exposure to members of the public on the aspects of fire prevention,” the minister said.
The minister urged members of the public to cooperate and be responsible in handling safety precautions in accordance to the standard that has been set as well as to be trained and be more knowledgeable about fire prevention.
He also said that there is a ‘public outreach’ programme namely the Rescue Voluntary Scheme, Fire Marshall programmes as well as road shows on fire prevention campaign.
YB Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin also called upon the Fire and Rescue personnel to strengthen and enhance the capability of the department in particular with the duties and responsibilities that are becoming more challenging and complex especially in aligning with the department’s standard and protocol.
“The department needs to enhance the skills and effectiveness of its human resource by providing opportunities for specialised training to generate more competent and confident Fire and Rescue officers and personnel in performing their duties,” he said.
As it was established more than half a century ago, the minister urged that the Fire and Rescue Department to review its plan in establishing the Fire and Rescue Academy which aims to ensure that the department has the ability and capacity to generate and train its personnel professionally particularly in using high-tech devices and equipment.
The minister also witnessed several demonstrations conducted by the Fire and Rescue personnel which runs with the theme ‘Bomba Bersama Masyarakat’ (Fire Personnel with the Community) which showcased the department’s skills, expertise as well as efficiency in cooperation with the Fire and Rescue Cadets, Fire and Rescue voluntary group as well as Fire Marshalls from the private sector whose role is to deal with emergencies not only on how to put out fires but to rescue before the arrival of Fire and Rescue personnel.
The guest of honour also toured the exhibition prior to the signing of the parchment and cake-cutting ceremony to commemorate the event.
A Doa Selamat was read by Ustaz Haji Adanan bin Haji Ahmad to mark the end of the ceremony.