Lending a hand: Sayani (standing, second from right) with the department’s officers helping at the bubur asyura programme. — RONNIE CHIN/The Star
IPOH: Basic safety and life-saving skills are important knowledge that everyone should possess, says Perak Fire and Rescue Department director Sayani Saidon.
She said one way to get as many people as possible to be part of the team is for residents’ associations (RA) and the Rukun Tetangga (RT) to engage with the relevant government agencies that provide such programmes and courses.
She said it is vital that people learn basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), what to do in cases of a fire or accident, and how to handle themselves when coming face-to-face with poisonous animals such as snakes.
“But the Number 1 rule in any emergency situation is not to panic.
“Because once panic kicks in, the person’s thinking capacity will be jumbled up.
“Thus the RA and RT can always engage with several related government agencies to help organise such programmes,’’ she said during the department’s “bubur asyura’’ programme at the headquarters here yesterday.
Sayani, who is the country’s first female state fire chief, said the department works closely with the community on fire prevention as well as steps to adhere to during water activity outings.
She said there are other agencies that also conduct programmes on emergency situations that the associations can work with.
Commenting on the recent case of a four-year-old boy who was unknowingly sleeping on a cobra inside his babysitter’s house in Bagan Serai, Sayani said the first thing that should be done was for the babysitter to get the child away from the reptile.
“There was a possibility that she was all alone at home; there were no men or others around.
“But if there had been proper knowledge, the babysitter would have taken the child to safety first instead of recording the incident.
“There is usually a gap of a few minutes before the snake bites a person. The snake needs time to put its head up before attacking,” she explained.
Sayani said people usually take it easy, thinking that such a situation will not happen, but when it does, many will regret not knowing what to do during emergencies.
“Learning life-saving skills is never a waste, as one will never know when these will come in handy,” she added.
Sayani said the same goes for when a child is choking, and if an adult is aware of what to do, the victim can be saved before help arrives.
