Bomba received over 30,000 distress calls for fire in 2023 involving RM2.6b in losses, says minister

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 2 — The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) received 34,389 distress calls for fires last year, involving losses estimated at RM2.6 billion.

Minister of Housing and Local Government Nga Kor Ming said the amount of losses was very concerning as it was way more than the Budget 2024 that was tabled at the Selangor State Legislative Assembly.

“This is a message to all Malaysians, particularly those who will be returning to their hometowns for the Chinese New Year soon, that prevention is very important, so don’t wait until disaster strikes.

“As such, we hope everyone takes preventive steps before going back to their hometowns,” he said, adding that 747 fire cases were recorded throughout the Chinese New Year operations last year, of which 13 per cent comprised buildings.

He said this at a media conference after the launch of the 2024 Chinese New Year “Ops Siaga Raya” here today, which was also attended by JBPM director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad.

Earlier, Nga and the JBPM also distributed fire extinguishers to the Community Fire Safety Team, Emergency Response Team (ERT) and the Volunteer Fire Brigade as well as road users.

He also reminded those returning to their hometowns for the Chinese New Year to drive carefully since the number of fatal road accidents was quite worrying as well.

“Every year a total of 7,000 lives are lost due to road accidents. This translates to about 20 fatalities a day in road accidents and we must reduce this,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nor Hisham said 3,592 emergency calls were received for vehicles catching fire last year, involving 52 fatalities and 148 people injured.

“As such, we (the JBPM) recommend that all vehicle owners keep at least one fire extinguisher in every vehicle,” he said.

He said that under the 2023 Chinese New Year Ops, JBPM aims to carry out fire inspections on 4,000 premises nationwide, including homestays, hotels and shopping centres to ensure every building is equipped with fire extinguishers, alarm systems and accessible emergency exits. — Bernama