‘Need to address low fire safety awareness in rural areas’
MIRI: Fire safety awareness remains low in Sarawak, particularly in remote areas where community engagement towards curbing such catastrophes is still lacking.
Fire and Rescue Department ( Bomba) Sarawak director Khirudin Drahman said the local community needs to seriously address fire safety education to raise awareness among its members especially children.
“The 3P approach – precaution, prevention and protection – should be taken seriously as this can help to prevent more serious cases involving fire, which usually starts small.
“At the same time, our Fire Safety Division is developing a fire safety module for children at the state level, and we also encourage parents to bring along their children to fire stations to raise awareness,” he told reporters following an official visit to Lopeng fire station here yesterday.
He said during his stint as Bomba Kuala Lumpur director, he implemented a similar approach where from 2014 to 2018, the number of fire cases caused by children was almost zero and small fires at home was addressed immediately by the occupants themselves.
“This is an approach that can be implemented in Sarawak. Thus we
The 3P approach – precaution, prevention and protection – should be taken seriously as this can help to prevent more serious cases involving fire, which usually starts small. Khirudin Drahman, Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Sarawak director
will continue to raise awareness but we need cooperation from all parties.
“We cannot do this alone. Sarawak is vast with and we have 30 fire stations and 1,301 personnel, so we need the involvement of local communities.”
Adding to the numbers, he said Sarawak currently has 503 Bomba Komuniti teams comprising 4,771 members, 60 volunteer firefighter units (2,315 members), and 186 auxiliary firefighters.
“The number of auxiliary firefighters is expected to rise to 261 by the middle of next year, and this intake increases when there is a need at station level. In terms of fire station, we will have 34 in total by end of next year,” he added.
On longhouse fires, Khirudin said the matter will be addressed holistically, with the Sarawak government expected to amend and review the existing Sarawak Building Ordinance (SBO) law on longhouses in the state.
“If there is a need to amend the SBO to ensure that the longhouses are safe, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has expressed his willingness to do so.
“So far, the SBO has no mandatory direction for every longhouse to have fire extinguishers, and enforcement will not be an easy matter since there are about 4,900 longhouses in the state,” he said.
Adding on, he said the number of longhouse fires in Sarawak has been increasing over the past three years – 20 cases in 2016, 25 in 2017, and 29 so far this year.
Losses suffered by 25 longhouses razed this year are RM14.8 million, with the other four cases still in the information- collection stage, he added.
“Not all longhouses were totally burnt. In Miri, there were three cases where the fire was extinguished by residents in the early stages, and this demonstrates the importance of establishing community firefighters who are capable of controlling the early stages of fire.
“Everyone must play a part in raising fire awareness, especially among rural folk. Corporate bodies can also lend a hand by donating fire extinguishers to longhouses as part of their corporate social responsibility programme.”
Accompanying Khirudin on his visit was Bomba Miri chief Law Poh Kiong.