BELAGA: The State Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) will not rest on its laurels but continue spreading awareness and imparting knowledge on fire safety and prevention to communities in every corner of Sarawak.
Bomba Sarawak director Datuk Khirudin Drahman said the department is committed to conduct advocacy programmes in the effort to build a resilient community at all levels of the community.
While Sarawak is known for its sparsely distributed population in the rural areas, he assured that this is not a deterrent for the department and its personnel.
“The department has been actively conducting programmes such as the Community and Fire Point and Summer Camp with the communities in the rural areas. While others may view the challenges of reaching this areas as a disadvantage, it is not a problem for us,’” he said.
He said this during a press conference after the closing ceremony of the Community and Fire Point programme in collaboration with Petronas at Kampung Long Busang here yesterday (Feb 11).
Khirudin noted that the encouraging response from the communities who participated in the department’s programmes reflect how much they appreciate and value such programmes.
He said this contributes to the department’s objective of ensuring the people can be the first responders in the event of an emergency or disaster as the first five minutes is the most crucial.
“When people are aware of the 3L syndrome – ‘Lupa, Leka dan Lalai’ or ‘forgetfulness, carelessness, and negligence, it reduces the risk of a kitchen or house fire. They will be more attentive and careful of their activities,” he explained.
On another matter, Khirudin said there is a need to investigate the low rate of participation among the young especially those in the age group of 16 to 25 in such programmes.
Describing the situation as concerning, he pointed out that this age group must be aware of the important roles they play in their respective communities.
“Our participants usually comprise the elderly, adults and young children, but we hardly see teenagers taking part. So, this is something that worries me and we have to look at ways to improve their level of participation.
“In comparison to the elderly and adults, the teenagers are more able-bodied which they must utilise in fulling their civic duties to their community,’ he said.
