THE Fire and Rescue Department is often called upon by the public to render services other than putting out fires.
These services include removing snakes and insect hives that include bees and hornets.
Ahmad Izram says the department is willing to discuss with NGOs about training staff to rescue beehives.
Under Section 5(1) of the Fire Services Act 1988 (Act 341), these come under “performing humanitarian services including the protection of life and property in any calamity.”
“The Fire and Rescue Department officers are often ‘jack of all trades’, but under this Act, our main priorities include extinguishing, fighting, preventing and controlling fires, protecting life and property in the event of a fire, securing the premises, as well as maintenance and proper regulation of fire escapes.
“We focus on protecting people and properties from fire and handling disasters.
“Rescuing beehives is not considered a disaster. This comes under special services,” Fire and Rescue Department operations division director Datuk Ahmad Izram Osman told StarMetro at the Fire and Rescue Department headquarters in Precinct 7, Putrajaya.
Ahmad Izram said the department did not have a special allocation for incidents regarding beehives.
“Removing snakes is considered a desperate measure because snakes can cause injury.
“As for attending to beehives, it’s not an emergency and we can have some leeway to address it when the public calls us for help,” he said.
Based on the department’s statistics for other emergency calls for destroying poisonous insects – in 2021 it handled 113,622 cases while in 2022, firemen handled 98,216 cases.
He said the poisonous insects include bees, hornets and scorpions.
Ahmad Izram said the department welcomed suggestions that involved training its staff on how to rescue beehives in a more humane approach with relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
“If an NGO wants to collaborate with us, they can send an official letter and we can have a discussion if it also involves a budget to purchase protective gear,” he said.
