PETALING JAYA: Rescue and humanitarian assistance remained a major part of the Fire and Rescue Department’s operations, with 81,207 cases recorded nationwide last year.
For comparison, the department recorded 34,983 calls related to fires in 2025.
Despite being allocated similar operational budgets over the years, the department’s workload has not dramatically reduced.
“Besides firefighting, our personnel respond to road accidents, floods, landslides, medical emergencies and humanitarian assistance,” said department director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohamad.
He cited statistics from the National Fire Operations Centre which showed that Abang Bomba attended to 92,307 rescue cases in 2023.
This dropped to 74,551 in 2024 but it went up by nearly 9% last year.
According to him, animal-related assistance formed a significant portion of the department’s humanitarian calls over the past three years.
“In 2023, we handled 43,568 cases involving the capture of snakes and other animals, as well as 18,294 cases to destroy dangerous insects. These numbers decreased in 2024 to 30,587 animal-related cases and 12,106 insect removal cases.
“However, it went up again last year, with 33,344 cases involving snakes and other animals, and 16,163 cases to destroy dangerous insects.”
Nor Hisham in an interview said the Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) recorded a steady increase, with 2,645 cases last year compared to 2,603 in 2024 and 2,527 in 2023.
Road accidents continued to make up the bulk of rescue calls, he said.
Last year alone, firefighters responded to thousands of accidents on urban roads, highways and federal roads.
Floods and landslides also required frequent responses. Flood cases rose sharply to 1,679 in 2024 before dropping to 1,013 last year.
“Landslides increased to 314 cases last year compared to 188 in 2023.”
He also stressed that incidents involving fallen trees were among the most frequent disaster-related calls, with Selangor recording the highest number of cases.
On the bright side, the figures showed a gradual decline over the three-year period.
“In 2023, Selangor recorded 953 fallen tree cases.
“The state continued to record the highest number in 2024 with 701 cases, and again in 2025 with 696 cases,” he said.
On special task assignments, Nor Hisham said the number of cases increased from 2,277 in 2023 to 2,585 in 2024, a 13.5% rise, before climbing further to 2,898 last year, marking a 12% increase.
“These included controlling open burning, assisting other government agencies, providing safety support during festivals and events, as well as other community services,” he added.
Nor Hisham said the department will continue to strengthen its readiness and cooperation with other agencies to handle emergencies efficiently.
As for funds to help them do their job, Nor Hisham said the department’s operational allocation has remained relatively consistent over the past few years.
The annual allocation for the department’s overall operations stood at about RM92mil last year, covering all operational needs and not solely rescue and humanitarian assistance.
“The allocation has not differed much from previous years, with increases usually around 2% annually.”
Nor Hisham added that the department received an estimated RM92mil allocation in 2023, which rose to about RM94mil in 2024 before standing at around RM92mil last year.
While the current funding is generally sufficient to support operations, he said there is still room for improvements to further strengthen the department’s emergency response capabilities.
