BETONG: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas on Tuesday gave away 155 units of fire extinguishers to some 95 longhouse chiefs in his Bukit Saban constituency.
Accompanying him during a gathering held at Rumah Francis Nyangau in Penom near here were Betong MP Datuk Robert Lawson Chuat; Dr Richard Rapu, a political secretary to the Chief Minister, and Betong senior fire officer Henry Jugah.
In his brief address earlier, Uggah said while it was useful to have the extinguishers close at hand, the best fire prevention method was for the longhouse folks to exercise extreme care when using any electrical appliances.
He said this was more so with the approaching Gawai Dayak celebration when there would be a lot of cooking to be done.
He added that the people too would be using many electrical appliances.
“I would certainly advise the people to be extremely cautious.” he said.
According to Henry, more fire extinguishers would be given when the new stock arrived.
He said an extinguisher would used by every five family units in a longhouse but this was if they had attended a fire prevention and fighting course organised by the Fire and Rescue Department.
For the rest, he said one extinguisher would be given.
Henry added that more fire prevention and fighting courses would be organised for longhouse folks in the division after the Hari Raya celebration.
