KANOWIT, Nov 17: Personnel at the Kanowit Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) fire station have created a special device called the telescopic boom sprayer to assist in destroying beehives and wasps.
This comes as the station has been receiving an increasing number of calls from the public over the last two years asking for their help to destroy beehives and wasp nests.
Station chief Arrahman Chik said the device makes the firefighters’ work easier and safer.
“According to our records, last year we received 53 calls for beehive and wasp nest destruction operations while this year from January to October, we received 34 calls for the same purpose,” said Arrahman.
In comparison, he said for the whole state, in 2019, firefighters attended to a total of 1,283 cases of calls to destroy beehives and wasp nests and in 2020 it showed an increase to 1,915 cases.
“Although no death has been reported in the State due to bee and wasp stings, there have been cases of injuries to the public, especially the callers who were stung by the insects,” he revealed.
Citing an example, he said a housewife in Skudai accidentally set her house on fire when she set fire to egg crates to scare away bees in her bedroom in April last year.
He also highlighted a case involving a child who died from a wasp sting in the State previously.
“Similar incidents have also prompted the public to be more concerned to seek our help to destroy beehives and wasp nests,” he noted.
Arrahman advised the public to seek assistance from the fire department or other agencies which have trained expertise and specialised equipment to carry out work to destroy the nests of venomous insects. — DayakDaily
