Hamdan (seated eighth left), Khirudin (seated eighth right) and Edwin (seated seventh left) pose for a photo call with the staff and officers of Bintulu fire station.
BINTULU: Bintulu Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) personnel have been challenged to perform to the best of their abilities and be the best firemen among the best in the state.
Bomba director-general Datuk Mohammad Hamdan Wahid gave this challenge during his visit to the fire station on Monday.
“In two days we have the opportunity, I do not really know the Bintulu area under Bintulu fire station but after the briefing and seeing it with our own eyes, apparently this area is very big and challenging,” he said.
Being responsible for a big area and located in a town with heavy industries, he said Bintulu fire station should have a good fire safety and risks management plan, much greater than other ordinary fire stations in Sarawak.
“The value of assets and investment in Bintulu are also very huge with Samalaju alone recording over RM40 billion in investments and this excludes the existing industries around Bintulu.
“This is a serious matter and it should not be taken for granted and you also need to meet a very high expectation from the investors,” said Hamdan.
To the Bintulu zone chief, station chief, officers and personnel, he advised them to be always on the alert, saying they should be one level above other stations in terms of risk management.
He also told them to have a high level of integrity.
“Integrity doesn’t mean only avoiding corruption or power abuse but also relates to values, moral, etiquette and discipline,” said Hamdan.
He warned that underperforming personnel and officers could be replaced anytime given that many Malaysians were hungry for jobs.
Hamdan reminded that it is the responsibility of all fire fighters to ensure every inch of the country is protected from fire.
“Let us be a pioneer agency in fire safety and rescue in the country. If we are not interested in serving the department anymore I think hundreds and thousands of people with talents can replace us,” he said.
At the same time, he also reminded the Bintulu firemen to place emphasis on fire certificates (FCs) for premises considered as designated buildings in Bintulu.
“Please do engagement with stakeholders, government agencies at the state and federal levels, engage with the community, business circle, industry players and the general public,” he said.
He also encouraged the firemen to do joint training with industry players like ABF and Petronas who have better training facilities.
He also talked about the importance of carrying out individual physical proficiency test every six months for personnel to measure their performance.
Also present were state Bomba director Khirudin Drahman, state Bomba deputy director (fire safety) Mohamad Fauzi Mohamat Kifli, state Bomba assistant director (operations) Tiong Ling Hii, Bintulu Bomba zone chief Unjar Lum and its station chief Mohamad Meramit.