KUCHING: Sarawak's need for 21 more fire stations will be brought up for consideration in the fourth rolling plan of the 12th Malaysia Plan, says Datuk Abdul Wahab Mat Yasin.
The Fire and Rescue Department director-general said he had received requests for the fire stations from state Fire and Rescue director Datuk Khirudin Drahman as well as the state government.
"We will include the new fire stations in our planning list for the 12th Malaysia Plan," he told reporters after presenting service medals and excellent service awards to Fire and Rescue Department personnel here on Tuesday (July 18).
"We may not be able to get all 21 approved at once but we will give priority to those most urgently needed, subject to the government's financial position.
"For those not approved, we will bring them forward to the fifth rolling plan and so on," he added.
Abdul Wahab said priority would be given based on the distance to the next station and risk of incidents in the area.
He also gave assurance that Sarawak would not be left out in the department's planning for more fire stations and distribution of assets.
"Currently Sarawak has the most number of fire stations with 39.
"Sarawak also has a higher ratio of one fire station to about 1,700 people compared to Peninsular Malaysia, where the ratio is about 1:2,000," he said.
However, he added that the department recognised Sarawak's need for more fire stations due to its size and geographical challenges.
Earlier this year, Khirudin had said Sarawak needed 60 fire stations of different categories to provide maximum coverage across the state.
He also said voluntary firefighting teams could be upgraded to Category E fire stations, which would have basic equipment for firefighting operations.
