Telescopic device to help firefighters battle bees, wasps

A firefighter showing how to use the device to reach beehives up in a tree.

THE Kanowit Fire Station has invented the first of its kind telescopic boomer spray that helps to make it safer and easier to destroy beehives and wasp nests in trees that pose a danger to the public.

The boomer spray is fixed to a 3m long metal telescopic pole.

With this device, firefighters no longer have to get near the hives or nests to destroy them.

The item was invented as the station needed a better way to destroy the insects following increasing calls from the public over the past two years to deal with the pests.

Station chief Arrahman Chik said the device made it easier and safer for the firefighters to carry out such work.

“Last year, we received 53 calls for destruction of beehive and wasp nests, while from January to October this year, we received 34 calls for the same problem,” said Arrahman.

In 2019, firefighters in Sarawak attended to a total of 1,283 cases, which increased to 1,915 in 2020, he said.

“Although no deaths due to these insects have been reported in the state, there have been cases of injuries to the public, especially the callers who were stung by the bees or wasps,” he added.

Citing an example, he said a housewife in Skudai, Johor, accidentally set her house on fire when she burned an egg crate to scare away bees in her bedroom in April last year.“Similar incidents have also prompted the public to be more concerned and seek out our help to destroy the insects when they come across them,” he noted. — By ANDY CHUA