JOHOR BARU: At least six new fire stations including the Gunting Lagadan station on Mount Kinabalu, probably the highest fire station in the world, is expected to begin operations this year, says the Fire and Rescue Department.
Its deputy director-general (development) Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said RM450,000 had been allocated for the Gunting Lagadan station, which is currently manned by 33 auxiliary firemen from the Mountain Search and Rescue (MoSAR) unit.
“The building that we are using was previously the hostel building of the Gunting Lagadan Hut. We are in the process of recruiting more MoSAR personnel and also getting some documentation done between the department and Sabah Parks to officially turn it into a fire station.
“I am sure all this will be sorted out by the end of this year. We do not have any other fire station at such a high altitude,” he told The Star yesterday.
At 3,382.2m above sea level, the fire station will be manned by 42 auxiliary firemen.
The building was previously vacated after the 2015 earthquake.
Nor Hisham said 18 fire stations costing RM171mil would be built in the next two years.
He added that Sabah topped the list with six fire stations, followed by Pahang (three), Selangor (two) and one each in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Terengganu, Kelantan and Sarawak.
“Presently, we have 335 fire stations nationwide,” he said, adding that the latest one began operations on March 16 in Langkawi.
He said each station would be manned by between 28 and 59 personnel, depending on its size.
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