BANGI, 27 Feb 2018:
Two-thirds of emergency calls received by the Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) nationwide are for rescue operations rather than for extinguishing fires, said JBPM director Datuk Seri Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim.
He said 50% of the calls previously received were for fires and 50% for rescue operations.
“However, for the past three years, the scenario has changed, with 65% of the calls received being for rescue operations, while only 35% were for fire-extinguishing,” he said after presenting medals and the Selangor JBPM excellence award at Institut Kemajuan Desa here yesterday.
Wan Mohd Nor said the rescue calls received were for accidents, drowning cases, landslides and wild animals threats.
“Doing dangerous outdoor activities such as mountain climbing is a trend nowadays which results in people getting hurt or lost in forest areas. Thus, this has also contributed to the increase in distress calls received by JBPM,” he explained.
Wan Mohd Nor said currently JBPM received 80,000 calls a year, with Selangor recording the highest number of calls (18,000), followed by Johor (10,000).
– Bernama