Khirudin (second left) presents a plaque to a JPBM course trainee. — Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: The lack of fire stations does not stop the fire and rescue team from holding various programmes to raise public awareness on early disaster prevention measures, says state Fire and Rescue Department (JPBM) director Khirudin Drahman.
According to him, the restriction of allocation for the government to build more fire stations especially in the rural areas cannot be a reason for the department to relent.
He said the department has been organising programmes such as the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in collaboration with the State Government and local communities.
“Sarawak needs at least 50 Fire and Rescue stations (BBPs) to manage emergency disaster efficiently due to its extensive and challenging topography.
“However, this does not break the spirit of our members to bring awareness to the people about the fire, including training the communities in the interior to control the fire from spreading,” he told a press conference after a JPBM event held at the Jalan
Setia Raja fire station here yesterday.
The department has only 32 stations and there will be four more, one each in Selangau, Sibu Jaya, Niah and Matu later this year.
Fourteen more stations, especially of the E and D categorises, are needed to reach Sarawak’s target of 50 stations as Peninsular Malaysia has over 200 fire stations (BBP).
Khirudin also assured that his department will continue to train more longhouse residents to conduct early fire control measures before the arrival of trained personnel following the increase in fire cases in the interior areas of the state.
“The initial preventive measures within the first five minutes are crucial for the avoidance of major fires,” he said.
Earlier on during the event, he witnessed the handing over of new Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) for BBP Tabuan Jaya and BBP Batu Lintang.