Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Wahab Mat Yasin (centre) with Kelantan Fire and Rescue director Zainal Madasain visiting stalls set up after the closing ceremony of the JBPM Innovation Week 2023 programme in Kota Baru.
KOTA BARU: The Fire and Rescue Department urges any party or individual intending to provide flood relief aid using boats during the North-East monsoon period to report their presence to both Fire and Rescue and the police before initiating assistance operations.
Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Wahab Mat Yasin stressed that this step was crucial to ensure the optimal utilisation of assets during disaster periods at the incident locations.
"Control centres will be set up at District Police Headquarters (IPD) during disaster periods.
"However, if they cannot report to the IPD, a control centre will also be opened at the incident site, allowing them to register there," he said after attending the JBPM Innovation Week 2023 programme here on Wednesday (Nov 15).
Also present were Fire and Rescue deputy director-general (Operations), Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad and Kelantan Fire and Rescue director, Zainal Madasain.
Commenting further, Abdul Wahab said the department greatly appreciated the help extended by various parties in helping it and other rescue agencies during flood disasters.
He said rescue agencies really needed help from the local community who were more skilled with the ins and outs of an area during the process of rescuing flood victims.
"But the important thing is that boats that want to help flood victims need to have life jackets. Even if they are skilled in the ins and outs of an area, safety remained a priority
"We really need their skills to make it easier and faster when evacuating and giving assistance to victims," he said.
Nor Hisham added that the Fire and Rescue Department had instructed fire stations to ensure that voluntary boats engaged in flood relief efforts have proper life jackets.
"The department has informed all stations that if NGOs want to help using boats, they must be equipped with life jackets.
"We have also advised them to involve at least one rescue agency member in the boat," he said. - Bernama
