KUCHING: Emergencies kept firefighters much busier in the state throughout last year.
They responded to a total of 14,054 emergency calls compared to 9,386 calls the previous year, which translates to an almost 50 per cent spike.
Sarawak Fire Department director Datuk Khirudin Drahman on Tuesday said of the number public sanitation accounted for the most.
“Special duty cases (public sanitation operations) were the highest contributor with 3,740 cases in 2021, an 830 per cent increase compared to 402 calls in 2020,” he said in a press conference.
According to him there were also more fire incidents with the department recording 1,975 cases last year compared to 1,631 the previous year.
“Aside from that, rescue cases also increased by 13.44 per cent with 8,331 cases last year while 2020 recorded only 7,344 cases,” he said.
Touching on fire cases, Khirudin revealed that the most involved bush fires with 719 cases last year, compared to 506 cases in 2020.
“Next was fire involving buildings, where a total of 308 cases were recorded last year compared to 287 cases a year earlier.
“As for vehicle fires, we recorded a total of 199 cases last year while in 2020 there were 181 cases.
“For longhouse fires, we recorded a total of 18 cases last year compared to 16 cases in 2020.
“Last year, a total of 178 doors were destroyed while 292 doors were saved. In 2020, a total of 196 doors were destroyed and 333 doors saved,” he said.
Short-circuits caused 89 cases, kitchen gas tank (16 cases), matches (11 cases), sparks (11 cases) and cigarettes (five cases).
Throughout last year, the department managed to save over RM289 million worth of properties while losses amounted to RM59.72 million.
Also present at the press conference were deputy director Tiong Ling Hii and assistant director of operations Henderi Ardimansyah.
