With the number of ‘fire calls’ increasing, 2,386 in April alone, field staff have been advised to stay alert and leave is not being sanctioned unless urgently required, says Fire Services in-charge Director General Venkata Ramana
It’s midnight. A call was made to Malaysia’s Fire and Rescue Department about a forest fire in Tanjung Bungah, Penang. Firefighters rushed to the scene only to discover there was no such blaze. the department gets a prank call every other day. Many of these calls are usually made about an hour before or after midnight. Its exasperated director general Nor Hisham Mohammad is now calling for a multiprong approach to deal with the problem. “There should be stricter enforcement, use of technological...