MIRI, Nov 14 — We often hear the expression ‘house on fire, call the fire brigade’, but the real burden borne by the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) is more than what can be imagined.
From small emergencies such as a ring stuck on a finger, to tragic events such as drowning, road accidents or extensive forest fires, the ‘sang saka merah’ team is much sought after.
The services and sacrifices of the red-garbed team in executing their duties during the COVID-19 pandemic are hard to deny, as the words of JPBM (Sarawak) Zone 6 Miri chief, Senior Fire Superintendent I Law Poh Kiong ring true: “It’s not in the vocabulary such as ‘work from home’ for firefighters and all other frontline agencies in this time of a pandemic.”
Sharing the broad experience of his team in carrying out tasks during the COVID-19 pandemic to date, Law said taking into account the unique topography in Miri Division, it requires guile and guts to deal with any problems or cases arising.
“We use the three available modes of transport — land, water and air — to reach areas, especially in rural areas that need our assistance and services,” he said in an exclusive interview with Bernama here recently.
The terrain in Sarawak, especially in Miri which is rugged over a large swathes of land, limits the entry of land transport to the hinterland while the unforgiving landscape includes coastal swamps, river networks and high mountain ranges covered with thick rainforests.
Law said when a positive COVID-19 case was first detected in Sarawak, the worry uppermost was if there was a local infection in a remote area as the general public knew that connectivity to the site was very complicated.
“There are rural areas accessible only by boat because there are no roads. Usually the settlements perched on river banks have many residents, especially inhabitants of longhouses.
“For instance, the journey by boat from Miri to the interior of Marudi takes four to six hours while the farthest to the interior of Mulu takes up to 10 hours depending on the river current,” he said.
He said Sarawak rivers were also a different kettle of fish when going upstream, as the water gets shallower and harder the trudge in making way upriver.
For Law, the task of firefighters becomes a hill to climb when there are COVID-positive victims in rural areas that requires his party to retrieve the sick without a moment to lose.
“The process of extracting COVID-19 positive victims from an upstream area is “a bridge too far”. Vehicles can go in but it is difficult, just hope the four-wheel-drive can blaze through the logging trail and not activating the air-conditioning (to comply with procedure set by the Ministry of Health (MOH),” he said.
The task was not limited to that — as when the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) was launched, JBPM was directly involved in arranging logistics for the delivery of vaccine supplies to rural areas.
“Delivery of COVID-19 vaccine by air is also used for remote areas that are difficult to access by land, but the area to be targeted must have a suitable area for helicopters to land,” he said.
For JBPM operation of the Sarawak Regional Air Base (PUWS), there are currently two helicopters –an Agusta 139 and a MI 171 — that are ready to be deployed when needed.
According to Law, nearly 200 flights were carried out by the PUWS helicopters for the delivery of about 100,000 doses of vaccine to rural settlements, including Long Naah, Long Pillah, Long Teran, Long Bemang and Long Teru in collaboration with MOH and other agencies.
The travails of the firefighters, like all other frontline teams, should be given due recognition and appreciation, not least the sincere praise of the community for their sacrifice in blood, sweat and tears for the very survival of the people in Bumi Kenyalang (Land of the Hornbills) — where the earth is shattered by the piercing siren of the red brigade.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency