SEREMBAN: Stop open burning during the dry weather to prevent unnecessary wildfires as the outcome can be dire, says the Fire and Rescue Services Department.
Its director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said what worries him most is the people (pyromaniacs) who had a compulsion to deliberately set things on fire.
"While making my rounds in Sabah on a recent visit, I was shocked when told there were small fires reported in seven areas in the same locality.
"What many people do not know is that it can take us three and four hours to put out a bushfire and when this happens, we will not be able to respond as quickly to other emergencies," he told reporters after presenting the excellent and long service awards to firefighters from here and Melaka.
Citing an incident in Sibu of Sarawak as an example, Nor Hisham said a station was alerted of a fire at a village but at that time, four of the five engines had gone out to attend to a bushfire.
So, only one engine (with limited firemen) could attend to the village blaze.
"Unfortunately, 62 houses were destroyed in the fire," he said, adding that this was why the people should refrain from open burning.
Recalling another fire at a hypermarket in Perak recently, he said firefighters were unable to react at once because they were out fighting a bushfire.
Due to this, firemen from other stations located a little further were called in.
"The slight delay did have a big effect (to the hypermarket blaze)," he added.
On Saturday, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said the country witnessed a sharp increase in open burning incidents lately.
In February, 5,556 wildfires were recorded – an increase of 645% compared to the 746 cases in January, he revealed.
The current extreme hot and dry weather has an impact on a significant rise in cases of wildfires including forest fires and garbage fires, caused by open burnings.
Asked if the department needed more manpower to effectively carry out its duties, Nor Hisham said at present, there are 1,300 vacancies for various posts.
"We will have 298 new intakes reporting in early June and we hope to fill up the remaining positions in stages," he said, adding that the department currently has 13,286 full-time personnel and 2,168 auxiliary firefighters.
There are another 8,000 registered volunteer firefighters, he added.
