Part one of a three-part series
Bomba’s noble goal
MANY believe that champions are made, not born. While people have equal chances of becoming one, they have to be willing to persevere literally through blood, sweat and tears to reach the top of their fields. So, the question is how does one become a champion?
As cliché as it may sound, education remains one of the main pathways where a person can find the tools and develop the mental characteristics plus the skills needed to succeed in the chosen field of endeavour.
In the event of emergencies, for example, this is relevant. If a person has the knowledge and knows how to act properly, he/she can save his/her own life as well as the lives of others.
In the field of firefighting and rescue, this is a basis of training and operations, so it is no surprise that the State Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) has undertaken various initiatives to develop champions, not only among its own officers, but also within the local community it serves.
In firefighting, state Bomba director Khirudin Drahman stressed that education was pertinent to total safety.
He said last year, of the 6,910 fire cases recorded in Malaysia, 3,811 cases involved residential areas.
Based on these statistics, the most common causes of home fires were resistance heating (1,918 cases), gas appliances (1,225 cases) and sparks or short circuit (1,035 cases).
“The approach of our fire safety programmes is more towards a proactive and active routine instead one that is rigidly planned. So far, the programmes conducted have received encouraging responses and led to positive results.
“Based on the number of success stories from our 3Ps (Precaution, Prevention and Protection) approach, the losses and damages in the state due to fires have been reduced significantly,” he said.
In 2020, there was a 58.38 percent decrease in losses and 32.85 percent saving in property compared to the previous year, he added.
With 32 years’ service under his belt, Khirudin recalled that the fire statewide fire safety campaign for the local community in Sarawak started way back in 1989. It was launched by the then Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr Alfred Jabu Numpang in Betong.
“At that time, I had just started my career in Bomba. I can still clearly recall how my colleagues and I assisted in the preparation of materials and drawings for the campaign. The annual event was held in July with different themes, messages and target audience every year,” he said.
State Bomba director Khirudin Drahman 
State Bomba director Khirudin Drahman
Although a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, the department continues to actively carry out informational and educational programmes with various activities to educate the community on total fire safety.
“We want the people to have ownerships of the programmes and activities conducted,” said Khirudin.
“We want to create a community of citizen lifesavers and risk assessors.
“Of course, we strive to give our best services. At the same time, we want the people to be champions in the event of an emergency, be it a fire or other forms of disaster and incidences.”
Education — its importance and challenges
The Bomba conducts a fire safety demonstration with the local community. 
The Bomba conducts a fire safety demonstration with the local community.
When Khirudin reported for duty as the new State Bomba director in October 2018, he remembered that extensive efforts were needed to create awareness among the local community on total fire safety.
One of the greatest challenges was the existing mindset that saving lives during emergencies was the responsibility of Bomba.
He said this unfortunately contributed to unsafe acts, behaviours and conditions or unsafe ABC that put a person at risk of encountering dangers.
“Today, there is still a need to change the mindset and attitude of the people. We are hoping that this can be done through education. Education can generate awareness and provide knowledge.
“The people must realise they are responsible for unsafe ABC. To ensure that they can be safe and stay safe, the people themselves must act and change for the better,” he explained.
Khirudin said while the department strove to improve its response time in the event of an emergency, the people must know how to react responsibly and accordingly in the first five minutes.
“The first five minutes are the most crucial. A fire does not choose its victims and when it happens, panic is always the culprit as it causes people to lose the ability to think and act. If we freeze or panic and do not know what to do, it will not help the situation.
“A great fire can be extinguished by a cup of water if you strike it at the right time. Therefore, we want to educate the people on how important it is to manage and extinguish fires at the early stage,” he added.
Moving forward
While the department’s duties are clearly stated in the Fire Services Act 341 (Section 5), Khirudin said fire safety was a responsibility that must be equally shouldered between the department and people.
In the National Community Policy which revolves around building a sustainable community and generation, safety is included as one of its clusters. The three strategies in this cluster are ensuring a safe and secure living environment; increasing awareness and knowledge on the aspect of safety and strengthening social network between communities and stakeholders to ensure priority is given to safety issues.
“This policy highlights safety as one of the key factors in reducing the risk of accidents and injuries. Accidents are prone to happen but they are unpredictable.
“As Sarawak moves towards becoming a well-developed state, surely many high-rise buildings will emerge. The people who occupy these buildings must be educated on total fire safety.
“Even though smart building technology will be embedded in these high-rise buildings, it can be challenging to provide timely or extra assistance given its structure,” he said.
Engagement with young children on fire safety. 
Engagement with young children on fire safety.
Under the department’s Champion and Ownerships Programme in Total Fire Safety, there are various programmes including the Community Brigade, Children Fire Safety Club (3K Club), Summer Camp, Suri Sedia Urus Risiko Isirumah (Suri) and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
Khirudin revealed that the approach of creating champions among the people had shown positive results in the event of emergencies, particularly fires in Sarawak.
Even though the Covid-19 pandemic halted the department’s efforts to conduct its educational and public awareness programmes actively, Khirudin said they were utilising various social media platforms as an alternative.
He said the pandemic had encouraged the department to be more creative and innovative in the dissemination of information as well as to cover a wide range of topics on safety.
“We have been producing short videos for Facebook and YouTube on tips and information on total fire safety. This is one of the ways to ensure that education is continuously taking place amid the pandemic.”
Khiruddin stressed that education on total fire safety must begin in schools and with the young ones.
With the reopening of schools scheduled in October, he said the department hoped and planned to actively move forward with its education programmes and 3K Club activities for young children.
