KUCHING: The public are urged to clear the path for Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) vehicles to pass through whenever an emergency occurs.
Padungan Fire and Rescue Station (BPP) chief Abdul Mulatif Jaafar said, “At a fire incident, we wish to advise the public not to park their vehicles near the fire scene.
“Once they park near the scene, it will be very hard for our trucks to get in. In the village areas, it will be very hard for us to do our job, especially when we have to drive onto a small road.”
Curious onlookers, he added, were among the reasons why firefighters at times arrived late at a fire scene.
Mulatif said that firemen worried for the people’s safety when they got too near the scene, especially when fires happened due to short-circuit.
“There will be wires which can break off when they get too hot. Hence, we do not want people to get hit.
“We just hope that the public will let us do our job and refrain from getting too close to the scene to take photographs or videos for social media,” he said when met by reporters after the inaugural State Bomba Cooking Competition held at Padungan BBP.
On fire cases recorded by Padungan BBP, he said that for the year 2019, there were 109 cases, while this year, 11 cases have been reported from January until now.
On the causes of fires, Mulatif said that some (of the cases) were still under investigation while others were believed to be originated from kitchen appliances.
“Most of the cases were caused by kitchen appliances mishandling― for instance, people forgetting to turn off the stove.”
