| James Kon |
FRENCH Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Christian Ramage and German Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Peter Hermann Wolff yesterday morning paid a visit to the Fire and Rescue Department Headquarters at the Old Airport, Berakas to have a better understanding of its roles and responsibilities as well as emergency preparedness.
Welcoming the first-of-its-kind diplomatic visit were Acting Director of Fire and Rescue Colonel (Rtd) Pengiran Haji Maiddin bin Pengiran Haji Said, Deputy Director Lim Hock Guan and senior officials of the Fire and Rescue Department.
Also accompanying the French envoy was Katia Menargues, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of France in Brunei Darussalam.
Station officer Andi Kermila Waty binti Haji Abdul Karim in a presentation on the Fire and Rescue Department said, “Besides combating fires, the department attends to road accidents involving fire or trapped victims, fallen trees blocking main roads, victims trapped in elevator, gas leaks, chemical incidents, boat/ship accidents, search and rescue of drowned victims, landslides that endanger civilian wild animal life as well as suicide incidents.”
She informed the visitors that “the department handled 5,272 incidents in 2017 compared to 5,488 incidents in 2016. Firefighters battled 272 bush fires and 174 forest fires last year. The main cause of these fires was negligence, therefore the public need to be knowledgeable in reducing fire risk. To combat fire incidents the department regularly initiates programmes including workshops, roadshows, briefings, visits and fire drills involving fire volunteers, fire cadets and fire marshals.
“Future plans of the department include strengthening operational capabilities, increasing the level of safety and implementing a more cost effective management,” she said. Meanwhile, Special Duties Officer Grade 2 at the National Disaster Management Centre Mohammad Syazwan bin Nordin delivered a presentation on Disaster Management in Brunei Darussalam.
Following the briefing, the visitors proceeded to the fire station and a special unit to take a closer look at the equipment and facilities of the Fire and Rescue Department.
“We wanted to know the state of preparedness of the fire and rescue in case of emergencies,” the French Ambassador told the Bulletin on the sidelines of the visit.
“We have four training sessions organised by the European Union on ‘CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear materials) Awareness Raising – Multi-Agency Planning and Response’ workshops for different agencies and we will continue this programme. A French expert will arrive in Brunei to share his expertise on emergency response.”
The French envoy also pointed out the importance of maintaining a strong relationship between the fire and rescue personnel in Brunei and France.
On the level of preparedness, he commented, “From what I have seen and heard, the level of preparedness as well as response of the Fire and Rescue Department in Brunei is highly efficient.”
The Fire and Rescue Department hoped that the embassies and high commissions would give serious attention to the aspects of fire safety and train fire marshals to improve their safety management.
Fire safety is the responsibility of all in the community, including the foreign state representatives in the country, the department said.
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