JOHOR BARU: The Fire and Rescue Department is targeting 9,500 participants nationwide under a new programme to equip Malaysians with basic first responder and fire safety skills.
Fire and Rescue Department training unit director Abdul Razak Muda said the initiative aimed to create more “citizen lifesavers” and reduce reliance on firefighters during the crucial first minutes of an emergency.
He said the programme is in line with the department’s policy of bringing firefighting services closer to the people under the National Fire and Rescue Policy 2030.
Abdul Razak said participants would go through six stations designed to teach them different firefighting and rescue skills, enabling them to respond more effectively during emergencies.
He said 1,600 participants attended the Firefighting Skills Awareness Programme at Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Industrial Technology (UniKL Mitec) in Pasir Gudang, exceeding the Johor target of 1,500.
“The programme is a collaboration between the Johor and Melaka Fire and Rescue departments, but it is not limited to Johor as it covers participants nationwide,” he said after the programme yesterday.
Abdul Razak said the programme began in Sabah on July 28, attracting 970 participants, followed by Selangor on Aug 4 with 1,472 participants and Kuala Lumpur two days ago with 1,797 participants.
He said the programme would next be held in Terengganu on Aug 24, targeting 1,200 participants, followed by Penang on Sept 3 and Sarawak on Sept 7.
Abdul Razak said participation had been encouraging, with Sabah recording about 97% of its target and Selangor about 95%, while strong turnout was partly attributed to collaboration with the Human Resources Development Corporation.
The collaboration allows participants to attend without paying directly as the training can be funded through their employers’ levy contributions, he said.
Abdul Razak said the department was also moving towards a model of shared responsibility and self-regulation in fire safety, including plans for Fire Safety Managers and Fire Safety Officers to eventually conduct fire safety inspections themselves.
He said the department had previously trained Emergency Response Teams to act as first responders before firefighters arrived, citing oil tanker incidents in Terengganu where trained personnel had taken initial firefighting action before handing over command and control to firefighters.
