Fireman in anguish over good friend’s death

KLANG: For fireman Hamizan Halim, it’s beyond him that his friend and colleague Mazlan Omarbaki will not be coming back to work.

“I still cannot believe what has happened. I feel empty inside,” said Hamizan, 24.

Mazlan, 25, was among six divers from the Fire and Rescue Department’s water rescue unit who drowned during a search mission for a teenager at a mining pool in Puchong on Wednesday.

Recalling their last encounter, Hamizan said he was playing volleyball with Mazlan when the instruction came for the divers to go on the search.

“Mazlan had not participated in any recreational sports at the fire station once during the two years he was here,” said Hamizan at the Port Klang fire station.

His anguish was shared by other firefighters as well.

“We can’t accept what has happened,” said fire engine driver Mohd Bakri Ismail, 37.

Malaysian Mental Health Association president Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj said the Fire and Rescue Department must reach out to the firemen and offer them support to get through the grieving period.

This, he said, was crucial to prevent what is known as “complicated grief ”, which could impair social and occupational functioning.

He said the colleagues of the deceased firemen should be given scheduled grief counselling until a socially acceptable period of closure.

“We must remember that the loss for them is akin to suddenly losing a family member under unforeseen and tragic circumstances since they were more than just workmates,” said Dr Andrew.

Besides Mazlan, the other firemen who drowned were Izatul Akma Wan Ibrahim, 32, Yahaya Ali, 24, Mohd Fatah Hashim, 34, Adnan Othman, 33, and Muhammad Hifdzul Malik Shaari, 25.