Eye on 400 hotspots nationwide

PUTRAJAYA: Over 400 hotspots around the country will be under the watchful eye of the Fire and Rescue Department as it gears up for more hot weather in the heatwave affecting parts of the country.

Nearly 28,577 personnel have been put on standby, and the department is also ensuring that its equipment and assets are well maintained and ready to be deployed.

Fire and Rescue Department operations director Datuk Ahmad Izram Osman said only 20% of his personnel were granted leave between April and September this year in preparation for the dry and hot weather.

“We have 12,957 department personnel, 13,559 volunteer firemen, and 2,061 auxiliary fire officers at the ready.

“We will also be monitoring 406 hotspots nationwide, including surveying satellite imagery from our Operations Management Centre,” he said in an interview.

As of 4.30pm yesterday, seven districts in Peninsular Malaysia and one in Sabah have been under the first stage of a heatwave warning for daily maximum temperatures of between 35ºC and 37ºC for at least three days in a row.

Last year, Kedah was the state with the highest number of hotspots at 119, followed by Johor (45) and Negri Sembilan (37), said Ahmad Izram.

“We will activate the Haze and Open Burning Operations Rooms if the number of calls on open burning exceeds those of other distress calls.

“On-duty officers will also be assigned to coordinate and manage our response to these open burning cases.

“We have five aircraft, 69 water tankers, 399 Fire and Rescue tenders, and 480 utility trucks on standby,” he said.

Also on standby are 372 portable water pumps, five high-performance pump modules, 427 Wajax water pumps designed to withstand firefighting, and 167 floating water pumps.

Ahmad Izram said other specialised equipment that would also be used in these operations included 187 water dams, 14,417 hoses, and 12 thermal imaging cameras.

“Last year, a total of 9,596 open burning cases were recorded, while in 2021, the number of cases recorded was 16,932.

“This year, we have already recorded 4,106 cases so far,” he said, adding that the states with the highest number of open burning cases last year were Selangor (1,852 cases), followed by Johor (1,608 cases) and Perak (1,362 cases).

Ahmad Izram said the department’s aircraft were deployed for waterbombing exercises to put out forest fires in Baling, Kedah, Muadzam Shah in Pahang, and Bertam in Penang last year.

“In 2021, aircraft were also deployed to put out fires in Kuala Langat and Tanjung Sepat in Selangor, Muadzam Shah in Pahang, and Bukit Bendera in Penang,” he said.