ASAJAYA, Aug 18: Firefighters were forced to scramble as they responded to two wildfires and one peat fire at three different locations yesterday.
The first emergency call which came at 4.30pm was about a wildfire at Kampung Tambirat Lot, involving about 0.25 hectare of land.
As firefighters were busy bringing the fire under control, another call came in at 4.45pm, this time over a wildfire at Kampung Asajaya Lot. A second team of firefighters were despatched to the scene.
After completing their task and ensuring that the fire at Kampung Tambirat Lot was extinguished, the first team rushed over to Kampung Asajaya Lot to help the second team.
Two hours later, at 6.33pm, an emergency call about a peat fire, measuring about 10 acres at Kampung Tambirat Ulu, was received.
These fires were just the latest cases in a series of fires which have flared up across the state.
According to the state Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), to date, firefighters have managed to extinguish about 1,403 acres of peat swamp and wildfires in 516 cases since Aug 1.
Meanwhile, as of 10pm yesterday (Aug 17), the Air Pollutant Index (API) recorded at the Miri Industrial Training Institute (ILP) station was 180, down from 220 which was recorded at 12noon.
The API reading in Sri Aman was 291, increasing from 243 at 12noon.
Firefighters will continue operations in areas that are still burning and have been for days: Kampung Sedi in Pulau Bruit (day 10), Kampung Sangki in Simunkan (day 7), Kampung Tuie in Betong (day 8), Kampung Supak in Betong (day 5), Taman Harmoni in Sri Aman (day 8), Jalan Marudi-Miri (day 10) and Kuala Baram (day 17). — DayakDaily
