SEREMBAN: The public must file a report if they spot anyone illegally drawing water from fire hydrants, says Nga Kor Ming.
The Local Government Development Minister said such incidents will make it challenging for the Fire and Rescue Department to fight fires when water in these hydrants is depleted.
“I have to make this call after reports emerged that an MP from the Opposition had allegedly used water from a fire hydrant for other purposes.
“It is an offence under Section 26 of the Fire and Services Act 1988 for anyone to do so without approval.
“We must not forget that fires caused losses amounting to RM1.3bil last year, and we need to be serious about such matters,” he said after opening the recently upgraded Seremban Fire and Rescue station.
Under the law, any person who tampers with any fire hydrant or uses a fire hydrant other than for firefighting purposes shall be guilty of an offence and can be fined between RM100 and RM500.
On Sunday, Nga said the authorities would investigate allegations that Rantau Panjang MP Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff had tapped water from a hydrant in Kelantan to distribute to residents affected by water supply problems.
He had said legal action would be taken against the MP if these allegations were true.
Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department chief Zainal Madasin said Siti Zailah did not obtain permission to draw water from the hydrant.
Zainal was reported as saying that he had also checked with the state water authority, Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd, and received the same reply.
Nga urged Siti Zalialh to apologise to the Fire and Rescue Services Department if this was true.
Earlier in his speech, Nga said RM6.1mil was spent to upgrade the Seremban Fire and Rescue Department, which was built in 1960.
“My ministry has also approved another RM3mil to maintain and upgrade several fire and rescue stations and quarters in the state.
“Another one will also be built in Palong 6, and once that is completed, Negri Sembilan will have 21 stations,” he said.
Nga added that his ministry had also identified 69 fire stations nationwide that were older than 50 years and needed to be upgraded.
Eleven each are in Johor and Perak, Selangor with 10, Kedah (eight), Pahang and Penang (seven each), Sarawak (six), Negri Sembilan (five), Terengganu (three) and Melaka (one).
He said 15 stations had been upgraded.
On a separate matter, Nga said all 335 fire and rescue departments nationwide are ready to deal with fires brought on by the dry season.
“We have set a response time of 10 minutes for firefighters to reach any area where there is a fire, and I must say they have been successful so far.
“It is also my hope that the public will call 999 to report fires so we can together prevent the loss of lives and property,” he added.
