RM7 million allocated for fire prevention programmes, says Bomba D-G
KUCHING: The Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) has set aside RM7 million for its fire prevention campaign and public awareness programmes next year.
In stating this, Bomba directorgeneral Datuk Mohammad Hamdan Wahid also stresses that when it comes to educating the public, it has to start with schoolchildren.
In this respect, he said the department would stick to the ‘4Es’ of fire prevention principles – educat ion, engineering, enforcement and emergency management.
There are various types of Bomba educational activities set for next year, including the ‘Stop, Drop and Roll’ programme for children aged between four and six, which is widely run in the UK and the US, he added.
“When they reach the age between seven and 12, they would be more suited to hear talks, and be involved in demonstrations. Upon entering secondary school, they can join the Bomba Cadet.
“For university students, there is a brigade unit which they can join,” he told reporters after attending the ‘ Third Bomba State Assistant Directors ( Fire Safety Unit) Meeting 2018’ at a hotel here yesterday, where Bomba director of fire safety Edwin Galan Teruki and Bomba Sarawak chief Khiruddin Drahman were also present.
Adding on, Hamdan said the education and public awareness approach would be continued in Sarawak, despite its complex landscape.
“Many rural communities are far from any Bomba station; therefore we will run outreach programmes for them, including those in Sungai Asap resettlement, before the year ends. We will teach the rural folk ways to prevent, control and put out fires, apart from providing them with fire extinguishers and smoke detectors,” he said, adding that some corporate social responsibility (CSR) exercises are being undertaken in collaboration wit h t he Malaysian F i re Protections Association ( MFPA).
On a related matter, Hamdan acknowledged that the subject of f ire and rescue had been incorporated into the syllabus of some local universities, in which the students could take up as part of their study programmes.
This, he said, signified the importance of having knowledge in fire and rescue.
“We have ( fire and rescue) subjects like Master of Science programme at Universiti Putra Malaysia, the degree in Forensics at Universiti Sains Malaysia ( USM), and also the Safety and Security programme at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
“Right now, we plan to do a degree in Fire Safety Engineering at USM,” said Hamdan.