THIS week’s column delves deeper into the understanding of fire safety, security, and life safety within Sarawak communities and their daily routines.
Many of my articles focus on the approach and efforts of the State Fire and Rescue Department (BOMBA Sarawak) to educate the communities, emphasising the 3L syndrome – ‘Lupa, Leka dan Lalai’ or ‘forgetfulness, carelessness, and negligence’.
We consistently emphasise the importance of ensuring total fire safety to make homes truly safe for occupation. Concepts like the 3P and 5E are crucial in creating resilient communities against fire risks.
However, despite extensive advocacy efforts, the recent celebratory moods during Hari Raya Aidilfitri have led to negligence within communities.
Unfortunately, many people have disregarded BOMBA Sarawak’s advocacy on fire and life safety matters.
Despite the widespread circulation of these advocacy efforts through various media channels, they seem to be ignored, as indicated by the number of preventable incidents.
Firefighters must exert 100 per cent physical, mental and emotional stamina to effectively serve communities, especially during festive seasons. Tough decisions must be made to ensure community safety. It is crucial to understand the typical phases of crisis development, from pre-crisis to post-crisis.
Rescuers aim to prevent situations from escalating from minor to major, crisis to disaster, and disaster to catastrophe.
One of BOMBA Sarawak’s mottos and philosophies that we hold onto is, “We want to see you before the incident or fire, not after.”
This motto signifies a shift from a reactive to a proactive stance, empowering communities to actively engage in fire prevention and life safety protection endeavours.
Every individual’s role is significant in collective action towards fire and life safety prevention. Community awareness should prioritise not only theoretical understanding but also practical precautions, emphasising the indispensable nature of precaution, prevention, and protection.
Through diligent efforts, attention to detail and commitment to the cause, we can guarantee our safety.
Recent incidents and fire tragedies within Sarawak communities highlight the unnecessary and avoidable nature of many incidents due to human negligence.
Learning from past experiences and understanding emergency management processes are crucial.
Coordinating with the community and providing training are key to minimising impacts. Respecting advocacy and danger signs is vital for community safety.
Unsafe ABCs (acts, behaviours, and conditions) are significant contributing factors to incidents, emphasising the need for continuous training and empowerment of communities.
Understanding what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and the dangers of not changing our attitude towards unsafe behaviours are essential.
Creating a conducive environment where people are not afraid to communicate and are willing to sacrifice for the greater good is crucial.
Real transformation requires cultivating a strong safety culture among communities, driven by lessons learned from past incidents.
Reskilling and upskilling community leaders in change management towards incidents or crises are essential. Ultimately, everyone can become a champion in safety.
It is important to point out that leadership in transformation relies on each of us. Every family, community, and nation rises and falls with leadership.
Together, with the right fundamentals, we can champion the safeguarding of our communities and the environment, embodying love, benevolence, compassion, courage and fairness.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
