Personnel from the Malaysian Armed Forces, Civil Defence Force and Fire and Rescue Department in action during the tsunami drill under the Mersing District Office.
THE Johor Fire and Rescue Department is working with the Department of Environment (DOE) to monitor the Air Pollutant Index (API) in the state.
Its deputy director Mohd Rizal Buang said 551 open burning cases involving bush and mini dumping grounds were reported in Johor from May 15 to Sept 5.
“DOE would alert us if they detect any significant changes in the API readings, and we would then go to the ground to conduct investigations.
“All cases are dealt with immediately so that it would not escalate and pollute the environment,” he said when contacted.
Mohd Rizal added that open burning was on the rise despite the rainy weather.
“On Sept 4 , we received 17 reports of open burning.
“Although the cases were quite minor, there is an upward trend,” he said.
“We hope the public would refrain from burning their rubbish or clearing the land by using fire as the situation could get out of control.”
Mersing District Disaster Management Committee chairman Mohammed Shakib Ali said that open burning cases there were also closely monitored.
“The public should report any incident to the authorities so that immediate action can be taken,” he said.
Mohammed Shakib, who is also Mersing District Officer, said that the department had also conducted a tsunami training exercise at Dewan Jubli Intan temporary relief centre.
“This is the first time we have conducted such a drill where we had 30 volunteers or ‘victims’ that needed to be rescued after the tsunami alert was activated,” he said, adding that a tsunami alert tower was placed in Menara Tanjung in October last year.
