Flood strategy appears to be working in Gebeng

Stubborn blaze: An aerial view of peat fire at the Gebeng industrial area in Kuantan.

KUANTAN: Firefighters have successfully extinguished 70% of the peat fire in the Gebeng industrial area.

State Fire and Rescue Department director Nor Hisham Mohammad said their strategy in flooding the area appeared to be effective in bringing the situation under control.

“The tactical combination of increasing water level for complete flooding and direct attack from firefighters has seen result.

“We managed to put out 70% of the fire on the fourth day of operation,” he said yesterday.

Firemen, with cooperation from the Gebeng Emergency Mutual Aid team, have been fighting the peat fire since Monday.

They were controlling the fire from spreading further by damming the monsoon drains to block the water flow so that it would rise to ground level and act as a barrier.

It is believed that fishing activities at a nearby lake which involved the use of fire started the blaze.

The peat fire has engulfed some 60ha of land in the industrial area so far.