Losses from fire down to RM757mil in 2010

The amount of losses due to fire  incidents throughout the country went down by 24.5 per cent to RM757 million last year from RM1 billion in 2009.

Fire and Rescue Department director-general Wan Mohamad Nor Ibrahim said the reduced losses showed the increased effectiveness of the firemen in saving properties in fire cases.

“Although we have not been able to reduce fire incidents, what is important is reducing losses and I hope this trend will continue,” he said after a working visit to the Kepala Batas Fire and Rescue station today.

He said in 2010, the department received emergency calls for 55,529 fire cases and for 56,643 cases in 2009.

Wan Mohamad Nor said while the public often complained about the fire brigades arriving late at fire scenes, they were advised to call the stations immediately to enable the firemen to arrive at the scenes early.

“The department has set 10 minutes for firemen to arrive at fire scenes that are nearby, and at least 20 minutes if they are some distance away,” he added.

– Bernama