The Borneo Post

Bomba seeks economical yet effective approach

- By Jeremy Veno reporters@theborneop­ost.com

KUCHING: Fire and Rescue Department ( Bomba) Malaysia will be formulatin­g an economical yet at same time effective approach to improve its services in rural areas of Sarawak and Sabah.

Newly-minted Bomba Malaysia director- general Mohammad Hamdan said the department will also be seeking the cooperatio­n of both state government­s to facilitate the new approach.

“We ( Bomba) have to make sure that our response in the rural areas is the same as in the urban areas,” said Mohammad Hamdan at a press conference when on his working visit to the Sarawak Bomba headquarte­rs here yesterday.

Fire cases involving longhouses in the rural areas of Sarawak have also caught the attention of Minister of Housing and Local Government Zuraida Kamaruddin who announced on Thursday that her ministry is mulling to set up a special category for fires involving longhouses, he added.

According to him, the cost to construct a fire station is quite high and would be a waste of fund if it is built in a low risk area particular­ly in the rural parts of Sarawak.

“This is why we have to find a new approach that is more economical,” said Mohammad Hamdan who became the first Sarawakian to hold the department’s top post on June 11 this year.

He further revealed that Bomba will also be expanding its Voluntary Unit and Community Unit especially in the rural areas which would become the first responder in any fire-related incident and thus avoid further losses.

The department he added will also be providing more intensive trainings to these units and ensure that the corporate social responsibi­lity ( CSR) of participat­ing industries will be able to provide basic fire protection systems such as smoke detectors and fire extinguish­ers to longhouse residents.

“These are the approaches that we need to look into and ensure that they will be carried out systematic­ally and comprehens­ively,” he emphasised.

On another note, the department’s policy and standard operating procedure (SOP) must be dynamic to keep up with evolving challenges, Mohammad Hamdan added.

Malaysia he said is a developing nation and the department now faced different scenarios and risks such as more road tunnels built, fire cases involving buildings using solar panels and presence of various chemicals that are widely used in the manufactur­ing industry.

“These are areas that pose new challenges to the department which require expertise of our personnel to handle them,” he said.

Bomba Malaysia he added is also in the midst of forming a ‘ Hyper Rescue Team’ whereby team members will be deployed in an operation that involves heavy vehicles such as trains, lorries and buses.

On another matter, Bomba Malaysia has seen an increase in the number of emergency calls received during its Ops Raya which started two weeks before the celebratio­n and ended yesterday.

“We have received 3,721 emergency calls so far this year compared to 3,510 calls in the whole of 2017.

“This year, the emergency calls involving fires stand at 1,648, rescue calls (1,828) and road accidents ( 245),” Mohammad Hamdan added.

 ??  ?? Mohammad Hamdan (second left) shakes hands with a section of the Bomba personnel during his working visit yesterday. At left is Bomba Sarawak director Nor Hisham Mohammad. — Photos by Kong Jun Liung
Mohammad Hamdan (second left) shakes hands with a section of the Bomba personnel during his working visit yesterday. At left is Bomba Sarawak director Nor Hisham Mohammad. — Photos by Kong Jun Liung
 ??  ?? Mohammad Hamdan
Mohammad Hamdan

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