Hamdan (fourth left) together with Sarawak Bomba Director Khirudin Drahman (third left) pose for a group photo with Bomba Volunteer Teams from Sarawak and Labuan after the closing ceremony of the Borneo Bomba Volunteer Teams Convention 2019 at the Sarawak Bomba headquarters in Kuching.
KUCHING: The Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) will be coming up with a contingency plan to accommodate its Sarawakian and Sabahan personnel during this year’s holiday season.
Bomba Director General Dato’ Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said many of its personnel in Sarawak and Sabah would be celebrating Christmas this December, and therefore it was only right for the department to give some of them their deserved leaves to celebrate the occasion with their family members at home.
“In fact leave for Bomba personnel has been frozen since last September till February 2020 for those on duty in operations dealing with the expected flood season.
“However, we believe for Sarawak and Sabah, many of our personnel and officers will be celebrating Christmas.
“Therefore we will be carrying out contingency plans to ensure these men applying for leave can be replaced by those who are off in case of emergency calls during this festive season,” he told reporters after closing the Borneo Bomba Volunteer Teams Convention 2019 at the Sarawak Bomba headquarters here today.
He added that officers manning the Bomba operations centres would also be on call around the clock to ensure that the department was always ready to respond to emergencies.
In some exceptional cases, Bomba personnel who require emergency leave would also be given consideration, he said.
“These exceptional cases could be like the death of a relative or family member,” Hamdan explained.
On that note, he said Bomba was working closely with other emergency response agencies and the National Disaster Management Agency and the Meteorology Department to monitor flood cases around the country.
On top of that, he said Bomba has been prepared for the flood season since last September.
“Recently the East Coast of the Peninsula have been facing flood – Terengganu, Kelantan and Perak. Occasionally Selangor and Pahang, but these cases did not require evacuation,” said Hamdan.
He said Bomba will be on standby to respond to any flood emergencies throughout the country around the clock.
“We advice the public to always heed the advice of these emergency response agencies, particularly Bomba.
“You can also call up the nearest Bomba station for detailed advice or updates on flood situations in your area,” said Hamdan.