Ready for deployment: Yeoh (in white) and Ng (squatting, right) watching CRSM members check an inflatable boat at the Fire and Rescue Department’s marine base in Mak Mandin. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
BUTTERWORTH: The Crisis Relief Squad of MCA (CRSM) has strengthened its role to become an elite team trained to save lives during disasters such as floods.
A group of 20 members, dubbed the “elites” of the squad from states in the northern region, have been trained by the Fire and Rescue Department to operate inflatable dinghies and outboard motors to propel movement on water.
Penang MCA secretary Yeoh Chin Kah said the CRSM Elite Team Boat Handling Basic Course Exercise was aimed at creating an emergency action team to be mobilised during disasters.
“Such trainings will allow the members to effectively perform immediate aid to victims of disasters,” he said after laun- ching the course at the Fire and Rescue Department’s marine base in Mak Mandin here yesterday.
Yeoh added that the squad has 137 members across the country.
CRSM secretary Ng Sing Phing said the eight-hour session introduced members to various equipments used in search and rescue operations, their functions and ways to operate them in various conditions.
“Our members are not professional lifesavers but they have the volunteer spirit to help.
“Their main tasks will focus on delivering aid to the victims and helping to transport them to safety,” he added.
