| Syazwani Hj Rosli |
ONE hundred and sixty members from the Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC) team received their certificates in a ceremony yesterday at the Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre for the completion of their three-day ‘Fire Marshal Certification’ course.
The guest of honour was Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar, in his capacity as the Chairman and Executive Director of the Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC).
Acting Director of Fire and Rescue at the Ministry of Home Affairs Lim Hock Guan, officers from the Fire and Rescue Department, JPMC personnel and guests were also present.
The ceremony began with the recitation of Doa by Ustaz Iskandar bin Haji Buntar, which was followed with welcomings remark from Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham, who said that the training and appointment of fire marshals is one of the key strategies in ensuring fire safety and preparedness.
“By equipping fire marshals with the necessary knowledge and proficiency, the risk of a fire event as well as its possible damaging effects can be minimised and/or prevented,” he said.
“The important role of fire marshals in evacuation, containing and tackling small blazes in the unfortunate event of a fire cannot be overemphasised.
“As an organisation and workplace that includes not only employees, but also patients and visitors, it is our imperative and on-going pursuit to meet all required international health and safety standards.”
Speaking at the event, Lim Hock Guan emphasised the importance of fire safety awareness for building occupants, along with fire safety management and a Fire Emergency Plan (FEP).
During the three-day course, the participants were exposed to several theoretical lessons such as the best practices for fire safety, the classification or types of fire, and the types and usage of fire extinguishers.
The participants also had the opportuni-ty to experience hands-on activities such as the correct method of using firefighting equipment, handling smoke-logged situations, snatch-rescue procedures and first-responder initial response actions to any type of fire emergencies.