Give Fire and Rescue Department its dues

THE Government’s willingness to study the proposal to raise the salary of the Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) personnel is laudable and should be supported by all because their duties and responsibilities are as challenging and demanding as those in other important agencies.

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin recently said the Government would discuss the issue and might include the salary increment in next year’s budget.

She also said the decision on the special monthly allowance of RM200 for each JBPM officer and member would be known soon.

I believe all JBPM staff are anxiously expecting good news as the paperwork on the matter has been presented to the Cabinet and is now waiting for approval from the Finance Ministry.

The monthly allowance was proposed by former Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar on March 21 to recognise the effort and work of firefighters who have to deal with various challenges during fires and natural disasters.

If approved, the allowance would benefit 14,761 JBPM employees and involve an allocation of RM35.4mil annually.

Many of us are still unaware of or do not understand how challenging the task and workload of JBPM members are, especially those who are involved in firefighting operations.

When I was an elected representative, I used to work closely with firefighters who were helping victims of floods and fires.

While they were busy dousing fires, I helped the victims to get temporary shelter and, later, to apply for documents destroyed in the fire or flood.

My friendship with the firefighters was cordial and became stronger as the years passed, and I understood their heavy responsibility.

Based on the information that I received, JBPM is also responsible for enforcing laws relating to safety and fire prevention as well as providing efficient and effective humanitarian services. Its functions are spelled out in Section 5 (1) and (2) of the Fire Services Act 1988 (Act 341), and the responsibilities include ensuring the presence of fire exits, investigating the cause of fire and providing humanitarian services such as protecting the life and properties of victims.

JBPM also needs to perform other tasks entrusted to it by law or as directed by the minister.

Based on reports about their selfless acts, JBPM is the first choice to contact when the public need help for various situations, including accidents, floods and landslides.

Firefighters are frequently involved in search and rescue operations for those who are lost in the jungle and drowning cases.

The ability of JBPM members in such operations cannot be disputed as they have the appropriate equipment such as hydraulic cutting tools to help extricate accident victims from badlymangled vehicles. JBPM also has skilled personnel who can help to save pets, capture poisonous snakes and other animals or destroy hornets and their nests.

However, I believe more could be done to improve their services in the wake of new challenges, including being prepared for international missions such as the operation to rescue the young Thai football players and their coach who were trapped in a flooded cave in Chiang Rai province, north Thailand, recently.

At the same time, firefighters need to be trained to deal with fires in highrise building as more and more skyscrapers with new materials are being built in our cities.

In this regard, the Government should provide sufficient allocation for human resource development so that they possess technical and effective skills to handle any cases of emergency or disaster.

The training modules need to be updated to meet the latest develop ments and selected JBPM members should be sent for training and actual operations overseas.

Sufficient allocation should also be given to JBPM for the purchase of advanced machinery and equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) for JBPM members.

More community firefighting teams and professional and efficient emergency response teams should also be set up to react immediately when an emergency occurs, especially fires and floods.

I also hope that continuous efforts can be made to improve the workplace and housing of JBPM personnel and their families so that they can focus on work.

The time has come for a better deal for all our firemen who are willing to sacrifice their lives to ensure the safety of others. In many ways, they are our unsung heroes.