00:01The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department responds to an average of 400 calls on fire and rescue incidents nationwide daily
00:10in the first three months of this year.
00:12Last year alone, the quick action of firefighters managed to save 6.4 billion ringgit worth of property from fires.
00:20But beyond the numbers, firefighters are dealing with increasingly complex and high-risk situations with every emergency call.
00:28Department Director General Datuk Sri Noor Hisham Mohamad sat down for an interview in conjunction with the national level International
00:36Firefighters Day celebration to be held in Johor on May 9th and 10th.
00:42He highlighted the realities faced by the department's personnel, especially in tackling major fires such as the recent squatter fire
00:50in Sandakan, Sabah, which destroyed more than 1,000 homes and left over 9,000 people homeless.
00:59The land accessibility, very tough, the road also very narrow and then people also park car side by side, not
01:07easy for you to enter the area.
01:09So you just imagine during the incident, which is normally people try to rescue and then bring out, drive out
01:17their belongings, their belongings in their cars whatsoever.
01:20So become double-double problems.
01:23And then the second one is, they access within the colony itself.
01:26In Kampung Bahaya, of course, we have one main road, which is Aspal, properly Aspal.
01:31But the size, of course, tough for us to accommodate our fire engine.
01:36And the rest is a wooden jetty.
01:39So the wooden jetty also easily caught by fire.
01:43Besides that, the structure itself is prone to fire since it's mostly built using wood.
01:49Another one is, they built the house is closed each other.
01:53The gap between the roof also very, very small.
01:55Even if you go inside, you can see, orang cakap, the sky lah.
01:59Because you need to see the sky.
02:01You want to predict the movement of the fire, the movement of the spread of fire.
02:06Another big issue is, because they do this electrical connection, wiring whatever,
02:11whatever, we can't read.
02:14So during the fire, some of the fire, some of the lights, it will be cut, right?
02:18They cut and drop the air.
02:20That's become another, orang cakap, major issue when dealing with this,
02:23orang cakap squatters, electric cushion.
02:26He said in many cases, the installation of the cables is questionable
02:31and not done by qualified professional technicians, accounting for 60% of such fire incidents.
02:37There had been an increase in both fire incidents and fatalities,
02:42although the overall pattern tends to remain relatively consistent year on year.
02:48You cannot be so comforted with the situation.
02:51Fire still can happen.
02:53People, there is a possibility trapped inside the fire.
02:56Ada mati, ada cedera.
02:59So what you should do next is more important for us.
03:02Last year and the year before, we emphasized more on public education.
03:07To do public awareness, to do campaign, to do drill.
03:13But started from this year, I would emphasize more on two main area.
03:18First is we go for enforcement, especially on the high-rise residential building.
03:25So we said we must maintain system, lift must be in good condition, pump must be in good condition.
03:33We also see how bomber should move from traditional size of fire engine.
03:39Because you know already, if you enter the residential area,
03:43you said, you said, masuk dalam app, cakap condo, rumah, cost rendah semua.
03:48Access become a big issue.
03:50Last time we are so proud, which is our big Scania fire truck, big Mercedes fire truck.
03:55So since started last two years,
03:57we have started to start introducing the compact fire rescue tender, which is,
04:04we believe that, which is a smaller fire engine, easy for us to maneuver in the fire incident area,
04:11and also easy to maneuver on cakap and route before,
04:18the department had also recently launched the Community Fire Learning Center,
04:23and 15 such centers are now located at major fire stations nationwide.
04:28These centers provide interactive learning experiences using digital tools, games, and simulations.
04:35The department said it will also focus on prevention and awareness,
04:39such as inculcating habits like ensuring easy access to house keys,
04:43and understanding evacuation procedures in the event of emergencies.
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