BETONG: Everybody must know what to do when a fire occurred at their respective places to prevent the situation from worsening.
This is the advice of Betong Fire and Rescue chief Vincent Baling Yabi, saying the first individual nearest to the fire site should act efficiently.
“Imagine, the distance of the fire station to the longhouse is 50 kilometres far, definitely it will take over an hour of travel
“It is more difficult when the road is steep and hilly, which is only suitable for four-wheel drive vehicles. If we (the local residents) can’t afford to do anything, then it will be hard to imagine what will happen in the end,” he said during a fire safety talk held at Rumah Panjang Ijok, Spak.
As such, he said if the first person who is nearest to the fire site is able to act properly and efficiently and quickly to put off a small fire, the effects of the tragedy can be reduced.
“Therefore, it is very important to disclose the role of the residents when there is a fire,” he pointed out.
At the same time, he hoped that the talks and demonstrations on fire fighting delivered by the fire personnel could be applied by all the villagers.
Vincent also stressed that the 3L syndrome ‘Lupa, Leka and Lalai’ (forgetful, careless and negligent) is among the main factors that cause fire, apart from improper use of electrical equipment.
Meanwhile, at the programme, 30 longhouse residents were also taught on how to use fire extinguishers.
