MANY people believe that fire safety is the sole responsibility of the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) and government agencies.
However, if we were to look and analyse the statistics as well as the forensic fire post-mortem reports, it is the community themselves who are held responsible.
So to change this misperception, there is an urgent need to change the way the community thinks.
While it is never a walk in the park to change people’s way of thinking, I personally believe that it is important to realise and understand that fire safety is a shared responsibility.
The community must realise and be aware that they are responsible for unsafe ABC – unsafe attitude, unsafe behaviour and unsafe condition.
This is why the Bomba Sarawak in particular has been actively raising awareness and providing education to the local community to ensure that they have the right knowledge.
Knowledge will allow the local community to identify whether their neighbourhood is high-risk, determine hazard factors, build partnerships, improve safety measures and form effective strategies.
Through this, the local community can be prepared to handle any form of incident or disaster within the community itself despite limited resources.
On our part, the department conducts community analysis, develops partnerships in the community, creates and implements strategies which will allow us to evaluate the impact or result.
To create a safer community, the department has introduced the 3E namely education, enforcement, and engineering of community risk reduction. We ensure that a community risk reduction plan is deliberate, cost effective and sustainable.
The department is eager to create a community of citizen life savers and risk assessors in Sarawak. We want the people to be champions in the event of an emergency, be it fire or other forms of disasters and incidents.
On top of the 3E, there are two more elements namely emergency management and economic initiative thus making it the 5E approach.
These five important elements need to be materialised in a total fire safety approach and its deliverable which require the construction industry and system to follow.
The engineering approach consists of passive and active fire requirements, applying standards and codes, performance based approach, computer fluids dynamic simulation in designing stage to make sure the new building is built according to standards that ensure life safety, property protection and environment construction compliance.
The introduction of G.B.I (Green Building Index), E.L.C (Eco Landscape Concept), E.A.L (Eco Aquatic Landscape, T.O.D (Transit orientation Development, E.C (Ecological Corridor), L.E.E.D (Leadership in Energy and Environment Development Design), through engineering consideration will make sure of better building safety in giving assurance to its inhabitants.
Complying to the fire protection guide in Malaysia and complying with the Sarawak Building Ordinance (SBO) 1994, is a guarantee that the building is built for its best usage. Part 1 to Part 6 SBO is a testimony of good engineering approach in building construction requirements.
Bomba Sarawak through its Fire Safety Division is undertaking the responsibility in making sure the construction industry, designers and owners comply with its requirements before they are given supporting letters and approvals.
Education is the best way forward in the effort to change the mindset of the community in looking at how they determine the risk around them, especially fire.
Understanding unsafe ABC will reduce the probabilities of fire incidents and eventually will reduce unnecessary losses, thus precaution, prevention and protection knowledge will keep them alert all the time.
Enforcement is a vital part in ensuring the people comply with fire safety requirements. Presently, the Fire Service Act 1988 (Act 341) gives the department power to enforce the law.
The Act makes necessary provision for the effective and efficient functioning of Bomba, for the protection of person and properties from fire risk and purposes connected therewith such as fire hazard abatement notice, closing order and issuance of Fire Certificate for designated building.
The provision in Act 341 gives us the power but it is the people who have the power to determine their own safety. Their understanding of it will enforce itself for their own benefit.
Safe practices and complying with regulations will ensure they own safety, neighbourhood, and environment.
At the same time, emergency management will compliment all approaches in tackling any incident. Understanding the systematic approach in tackling an incident before it becomes worse is crucial.
The first five minute response either by people on the ground or the industry will determine the severity of magnitude of an incident.
This can be done through applying the art of emergency management such IAP (Incident Act Plan Process), Emergency Response Plan, Emergency Response Team, and Incident Command System. The systematic approach will reduce the impact whereas and repetition drills will give the people readiness and knowledge what to do.
Lastly, economic initiative suggests the authority give recognition to the people and community’s effort in reducing fire occurrence and incident risks.
Recognising them through initiatives such as reduced fire insurance premium for keeping their building safe, create ownership in keeping the environment from unnecessary burning.
I believe that total fire safety with the 5E in place, can help build better living environments and neighbourhoods. Afterall, it is to protect mother-nature and the planet we are living on.
