BELAGA: The Community and Fire Point programme organised by the State Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) in collaboration with Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) received encouraging participation from the community in Kampung Long Busang here.
The programme held from Feb 9-11 saw some 197 villagers taking part in Bomba Komuniti, Celik Suri, Majlis Keselamatan Aktiviti Air (MKAA) and Kelab 3K activities.
Village head Yusuf Zawawi expressed his appreciation to Bomba Sarawak and Petronas for bringing the programme to the village.
He revealed that it was the first time such programme in the village thus the villagers were eager to take part to acquire important knowledge and skills.
“We are very grateful that Bomba and Petronas chose our village to be part of this progamme. It was very insightful and educational as previously we did not have the right knowledge on how to respond to disasters such as fire and boat capsize.
“All of us have indeed learned valuable knowledge that will enable us to assist each other in the event of an emergency. We welcome such progammes here and hope that there will be more in the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, villager Emut Ungau said the programme was an eye-opener for participants especially housewives like her.
She was awarded the best participant for Celik Suri during the closing ceremony of the programme yesterday (Feb 11).
“There were many things that we did not pay much attention to and took for granted which were in fact unsafe and could lead to a fire. I am grateful for the new knowledge imparted by Bomba because now I know better and can share the awareness with others,” she said.
As for Kelen Belarik, the programme sparked the desire to be involved in the Bomba community fire brigade.
He said the programme raised awareness on the importance of having community members who know how to respond correctly in the event of a fire.
“The nearest fire station to our village is in Kapit, but it takes approximately six to eight hours to negotiate the journey to reach us. As such, I am grateful that Bomba has trained the villagers including myself on how to put out fires,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bomba Sarawak Fire Safety Division assistant director Mohamad Fauzi Mohamat Kifli commended the community on their positive and encouraging participation.
He said a total of 29 officers from the Fire Safety Division, Zone 4, Zone 5 and Kapit fire station as well as 49 Petronas staff were involved in conducting the programme.
“We are pleased that the community was very welcoming and receptive to what we had to share with them. We hope the knowledge imparted will be fully utilised and shared with others,” he said.
