The Star 5 Mar 19;
JOHOR BARU: An average of 24 open burning cases are being reported daily in Johor since the beginning of this year.
Johor Fire and Rescue Department director Datuk Yahaya Madis (pic) said 1,443 open burning cases had been reported throughout the state in the first two months.
“These included almost 300 forest and field fires that were either sparked because of the heatwave or deliberately lit by people living in the area.
“Fires that took the department days to put out often involved cases that happened in peatland because when peat soil burns, it can burn deep underground,” he said in an interview yesterday.
He added that more than half of the open-fire cases recorded so far were those involving bushes while about 20% involved rubbish.
“Rubbish burning constitutes the second highest open burning cases we have received. The highest is burning bushes.
“This is a similar trend as the previous two years,” he said.
Yahaya also noted that there had been an almost 50% increase in the number of cases in 2018 compared to 2017.
“Some 2,610 cases were reported in 2018 and the year before, there were 1,400 cases.
“However, in terms of land area, a larger area was lost in 2017 (58,979.47ha) compared to last year (46,677.86ha),” he said, adding that more than 800ha of land were plagued by open burnings this year.
Yahaya urged the public to refrain from any open burning activities, especially with the current heatwave.
“It is very easy for the flames to spread beyond control during the dry season and it is better to completely stop any fire-related activities,” he said.
He added that the district with the highest number of open burning cases reported so far was in Johor Baru, followed by Kluang and Muar.
Open burning cases in Malaysia have doubled since Jan
Audrey Dermawan New Straits Times 4 Mar 19;
BATU KAWAN: The Fire and Rescue Department recorded 3,054 cases of open burning last month alone, almost double the numbers recorded in January.
In January, there were 1,936 open burning cases nationwide.
Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said with the extreme drought, which was far worse than last year, all its operations centres nationwide have been activated and personnel placed on standby.
He said they have also placed on alert their air units in Subang, Sibu and Bertam.
He said the drought situation in the Peninsular was more serious than that in Sabah and Sarawak.
“We expect the drought to prolong until April. What worries us is the annual haze, as open burning from our neighbouring country will further aggravate the situation.
“As such, we are constantly monitoring the situation on the ground and advise all to refrain from open burning, unless with proper supervision,” he told newsmen.
He was met after presenting awards to long-serving firefighters in the state as well as those who had served with distinction.
Present was Penang Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Mokhtar.
There were a total of 16,550 open burning cases the whole of last year.
Hamdan said the department would also work with other relevant agencies to coordinate their operations to optimise the machineries.
“We may also deploy personnel from other states to help out if the need arises,” he said.
Large forest fire raging in Perak; Orang Asli settlement threatened
Bernama New Straits Times 5 Mar 19;
IPOH: A forest fire is raging in a hilly, 8.1-hectare area near an Orang Asli settlement in Pos Legap, Sungai Siput, about 80 kilometres from here.
A spokesman from the Perak Fire and Rescue Department said it received an emergency call on the blaze at about 8.24am today, and a 12-man team from the Sungai Siput station was despatched to the location.
"There was no casualty, because the fire is quite a distance away from the housing area. The rescue team spent about four hours cutting through the forest to reach the fire scene.
"The area is estimated to be 1,500 feet above sea level," he said.
The spokesman added that the Fire and Rescue Department's elite force, or Multi Skill Team (Must), and the Special Tactical Operation and Rescue Team of Malaysia (Storm) were also deployed to the site.
"We are also requesting aircraft from the air unit to monitor the extent of the fire," he said, adding that works to put out the fire are also being assisted by the police, the Forestry Department and the Land Office. -- Bernama
