WHEN he first took over as State Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba Sarawak) director in 2018, Datuk Khirudin Drahman made a pledge that he would empower Sarawakians on fire safety through education.
Some may say that this was very ambitious of him, and certainly not an easy task to undertake or responsibility to shoulder.
However, Khirudin was committed and determined to ensure communities throughout Sarawak are given exposure and the right knowledge on fire safety.
As the largest state in Malaysia, Sarawak’s vast and diverse landscapes, characterised by dense forests, remote villages, and challenging terrains, made transportation and road connectivity a significant hurdle.
Isolated places like Long Busang, a small Kenyah Badeng village in the Ulu Sungai Balui, Belaga or Long Tepun, a small Penan village in Baram, are only accessible by journeying hours and hours through logging roads or by boat and helicopter.
The sheer geographic expanse of Sarawak could have discouraged many, but not the brave men and women of Bomba Sarawak.
Under the leadership of Khirudin and with a spirit of unwavering dedication, Bomba Sarawak embarked on a mission to reach every corner of the state, ensuring fire safety education and resources are accessible to all.
Bomba Sarawak is not only geared to impart knowledge, but they are also fostering a culture of preparedness and prevention to achieve the aspirations of creating a disaster resilient community in the state.
EDUCATION IS KEY
Khirudin said one of the biggest challenges for Bomba Sarawak is providing fire cover for a place as vast as Sarawak.
He acknowledged that building more fire stations, especially in the rural areas is out of the question now as it would need a huge budget to not only build the stations, but also provide firefighting equipment and train more personnel.
Presently, Bomba Sarawak has some 1,364 personnel and there are 38 Bomba stations spread across the state.
“This is why when I first took over as director, I decided to put more effort on Education out of the 4Es (Engineering, Education, Enforcement, and Emergency response). This meant inculcating more awareness among the local community in fire prevention while training them to deal with small initial fires in their community while waiting for Bomba personnel to arrive.
“These components may weigh differently in places like Kuala Lumpur where I previously served. Engineering was at 50 per cent, Education at 30 per cent while Enforcement and Emergency at 20 per cent. For Sarawak, we will focus on Education being at 50 per cent,” he explained.
DISASTER RESILIENT COMMUNITY
In Malaysia, about 90 per cent of fire incidents is caused by human negligence.
As such, Khirudin pointed out there remains a need to set up a community that is trained by the department to become the first line of defence against these fires.
He explained that actions taken within the first five minutes of a fire outbreak are vital as they will determine the outcome of the incident.
“If the community is well-versed in fire and safety, they can minimise the damage caused by the fire because it will take some time for firefighters to reach the scene,” he said.
Khirudin said it is pertinent to ensure the community can be independent and have the right skills as well as knowledge in managing any form of disasters.
With the establishment of the Bomba community brigade and auxiliary firemen in the local communities through the state, he said they complement and significantly the department’s roles.
This is in line with the first and second objective of the National Fire and Rescue Policy 2020 to 2023 which is to create a safer environment and cultivate high safety practices in the community.
“Many people believe that fire and safety is the sole responsibility of Bomba and government agencies. However, if we were to look and analyse the statistics as well as the fire forensic postmortem reports, it is the community themselves who are held responsible.
“The community must realise and be aware that they are responsible for unsafe ABC namely unsafe attitude, unsafe behaviour, and unsafe condition. It is not easy to change the community’s mindset and attitude, but education is the best way forward as knowledge will enable them to recognise and determine the risks around them,” he said.
Khirudin also said the department’s priority would always be to create a disaster-resilient community.
“The approach of our safety programmes is more towards proactive action thus creating a community that understands the 3P concept namely Precaution, Prevention, and Protection. Incidents or accidents do not select their victims. Whenever disaster strikes, panic is always the culprit because it causes people to lose the ability to think fast and act,” he said.
AWARENESS PROGRAMMES AND CAMPAIGNS
Bomba Sarawak has several awareness programmes and campaigns that cater to a wide range of age groups.
The Fire Safety Club (3K Club) targets young children where they are taught about firefighting; how to stop, drop, roll, and crawl under fire; recognise numbers and colours; draw and communicate.
Khirudin said the programme is similar to programmes undertaken in other countries like Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom.
He said the 3K Club has three modules which combined theoretical with practical knowledge and field trips.
“There are 10 sessions for Module 1: Theory and it is usually conducted in a day. This is followed by Module 2: Practical with four sessions and Module 3: Fire Safety Field Trip. Each module takes approximately half a day.
“Among the learning outcomes are knowing what fire is, learning not to burn, identifying good fire versus bad fire as well as the concept of stop, drop and roll. Besides that, they are also taught how to get out safely and staying out, planning their escape in the event of a fire, and practicing it,” he explained.
For housewives, Khirudin said the department’s Celik-SURI (Skuad Urus Risiko Isirumah) programme enhances awareness and equips them with the right knowledge when it comes to dealing with fires.
He said the participation of housewives in this programme is crucial as it enhances personal safety at home in the event of a fire.
“Besides this, for the longhouse community we have programmes such as Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Komuniti Bomba and Kita Selamat. These programmes are crucial to ensure that the community in the interiors of Sarawak can handle emergencies at the initial stage and prevent them from escalating into major disasters,” he said.
The department also has its Water Activities Safety Council (MKAA) programme to heighten awareness, improve rescue operations, and implement initiatives aimed at reducing drowning incidents across various settings including homes, workplaces, water transport, recreational areas, and bodies of water.
Khirudin said this is designed to encourage safe practices during water-related activities whether they are sports or recreation as well as to promote the integration of safety measures and essential equipment in water-related infrastructures.
COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTRE
In 2022, Bomba Sarawak entered a strategic collaboration with Yayasan Farley to enable both parties to work together in carrying out community empowerment.
Following this, the state’s first Community Learning Centre (CLC) at Batu Lintang Fire Station was established as a platform for the community, especially children, to learn about fire prevention and safety techniques.
Khirudin said the CLC revolves around fun with a purpose thus it enables children to have fun while learning about fire safety.
“By teaching children about fire prevention and safety techniques, it will not only benefit them, but they can also spread their new knowledge to their family and friends. The CLC has a conducive learning environment for children, and it will also make the community realise that fire prevention starts with each individual.
“That is why it is important for everybody to come onboard and learn this matter,” he said.
Khirudin pointed out that it is the government’s main desire to bring about people who are responsive to aspects of safety by inculcating high self-safety practices by the year 2030.
As such, the important goal is to ensure the safety and well-being of the people by using the whole country and community approach.
“Thus, I believe that the existence of this CLC can meet the local safety knowledge need. In addition to that, it is also to help the community especially school students to learn more about fire safety,” he said.
