KUCHING, Mar 11: The Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department has lodged a police report against an irresponsible individual for making a false emergency call about a longhouse fire, sending firefighters from three fire stations in Sibu and Miri on a wild goose chase.
On March 10, Bomba Sarawak Operations Center (PGO) received a call from an individual who identified themselves as “En Tigas” through MERS 999 reporting a longhouse fire at 8.04am.
Based on PGO’s Computer-aided Dispatch system (CAD) display, officers detected the caller’s location to be along Sibu-Bintulu road.
PGO officers then directed Sungai Merah and Tatau fire stations to the scene.
However, firefighters reported no sign of fire.
Several attempts to contact the caller to verify the incident failed, prompting PGO officers to check the mapping view from CAD, and the caller was spotted near Bakong, Miri substation when they called MERS 999.
At 9.03am, PGO received a call from Miri fire station, informing them that they had received a call from Miri police station, reporting a longhouse fire at Bakong.
Firefighters from Miri station were immediately dispatched to the scene, located about 90 minutes away.
However, similar to the earlier call, firefighters could not find any longhouse fire when they reached Rh Bakas Buti.
Upon checking with the longhouse folks, further monitoring and surveillance, firefighters later reported that the call made by “Tigas” was false.
Bomba Sarawak director Khirudin Drahman, who was clearly upset with the incident, said the department was deeply saddened by the irresponsible act.
“A police report has been made for further investigation to ensure this will not be repeated in the future,” Khirudin said in a statement. —DayakDaily
