RM5.2 bln losses in fires last year

PUTRAJAYA: Losses including destruction to property in fire incidents rose by 81.8 per cent to RM5.2 billion last year from RM2.87 billion in 2016.

Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director-general, Datuk Seri Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim said although the number of emergency calls received was down by 6.12 percent from the figure in 2016, the rise in the value of losses was contributed by the increase in the value of property such as factories, destroyed in the fire incidents.

Hence, he said, this year JBPM would train the emergency response teams at industrial plants across the country for early intervention in tackling fire outbreaks at the workplace.

"So far, we have identified about 40,000 industrial workers for fire-prevention and firefighting training,” he told reporters after officiating at the JBPM Annual Parade 2018, here, yesterday.

He said the value of property saved by firemen in 2017 rose by 42.3 per cent to RM50.97 billion from RM35.8 billion in 2016.

Wan Mohd Nor noted that 165 lives were lost in fire incidents last year, an increase of 54 per cent over the previous year, including at Pusat Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah in Kuala Lumpur where 21 students and two teachers perished.

"What we can learn from such a fire incident is never to take the safety aspect lightly. If advice is needed, refer to JBPM," he said.

With regard to responding to the emergency calls in less than 10 minutes, he said JBPM managed to improve on the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to 47 percent from 45.02 percent in 2016, and targeting 48.5 percent this year through the addition of 20 new fire and rescue stations to the existing 289.

On inspections by JBPM at 1,238 tahfiz schools that were completed by last October, Wan Mohd Nor said there would be re-inspection after the completion of improvement works to the schools like rewiring and purchase of firefighting equipment, through an allocation of RM30 million under the 2018 Budget.

“An allocation of RM50 million under the 2018 Budget will focus on repairing the infrastructure of the tahfiz schools including the staircase,” he said.

At yesterday's event, Wan Mohd Nor also launched the MyBomba application to enable the public to contact the JBPM to channel complaints or to obtain information and tips on safety. - Bernama