By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Oct 29: Sarawak’s Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) is in the process of restructuring its organisation, which will involve training more auxiliary firefighters and strenghtening the Bomba community.
Its director, Khirudin Drahman, said this would be the first time such an exercise is undertaken in the state.
“The restructuring is based on our risk assessments and analysis over the past few years. Other states are also doing the same,” he told DayakDaily.
Among the main components involved are increases in manpower and equipment.
“We have 1,300 full-time firefighters. If we look at our current strength and the state’s immense geographical size, the department is unable to be at its best for the community.
“Therefore, we will train more auxiliary firefighters and (increase the) Bomba community. This can enhance Bomba’s strength, from the aspect of providing better service to the community,” he said.
Citing past statistics, Khirudin said there was a higher possibility of reducing the probability of fire with the help of auxiliary firefighters and the Bomba community.
Besides assisting in fire cases, the presence of auxiliary firefighters has proven to be a great help when it comes to search and rescue (SAR) operations because the department would be able to respond faster during emergencies.
Meanwhile, speaking at the auxiliary firefighter’s certification series 1/2018 closing ceremony in Sungai Merah station yesterday, Khirudin said currently the department had 186 auxiliary firefighters stationed in 12 stations statewide.
“With the addition of auxiliary firefighters, they can assist at the recently completed stations in Tanjung Manis and Samalaju, as well as future stations,” he said.
Among the plans are placing auxiliary firefighters based on the one-to-one concept, where one full-time firefighter pairs up with one auxiliary firefighter. — DayakDaily
