PROACTIVE....
Yong turns on the fire hydrant to mark the launch of the Fire Hydrant
Maintenance Programme in Poh Kwong Park, Kuching. Azlee is at fifth left.
By : GEORGETTE TAN
KUCHING: Huge monetary loss
due to fire hydrant chamber cover thefts has prompted Batu Lintang Fire and
Rescue Station to come up with a theft-proof version to fight the menace.
This innovative cover,
dubbed ‘Penutup Chamber Mega 2012’ or ‘PCM 12’, which might be used nationwide
soon, is made from a mixture of steel and concrete, and is of little value to
scrap metal thieves.
Batu Lintang Fire and Rescue
Department chief Mohd Azlee Mohd Arus said PCM 12 was created by the station’s
Innovative and Creative Team to curb further loss of chamber covers that
protect chambers from getting filled with rubbish or soil, thus blocking speedy
access to turning on the water.
‘647 covers valued at RM258,
800 were stolen’
Their hard work won them the
Innovative and Creative Team competition for the Kuching zone recently.
Speaking at the launch of
Fire Hydrant Maintenance Programme in Poh Kwong Park here yesterday, Azlee
bemoaned that 647 covers valued at RM258,800 were stolen in the first eight
months of this year alone.
“This is worrying, as we
have 1,900 fire hydrants between Satok and 10th Mile,” he said at the gathering
officiated at by Deputy Minister of Works Datuk Yong Khoon Seng.
“PCM 12 is the better
alternative to overcome vandalism and theft.”
Yong said he would bring
their invention up with federal government for consideration to be used
nationwide.
“I will have a discussion
with the Ministry of Housing and Local Government on the new cover, and hope
that it will be approved for use nationwide. The existing steel covers are
expensive and are often stolen,” said Yong, who is also Stampin MP.
The Fire Hydrant Maintenance
Programme was organised by the Fire and Rescue Volunteer Teams together with
SUPP Batu Lintang Disaster Management Committee.
It aims to train volunteers
to keep their area’s fire hydrant in working condition and report it
immediately if it isn’t.
In addition, a certificate
and token of appreciation was presented to Poh Kwong Park resident Stephen Yeo
for agreeing to monitor the condition of the fire hydrant just outside his
house.
Programme organising
chairman Phillip Chen said that proactive participation from the community is
vital to ensure that the neighbourhood’s fire hydrants were in working
condition.
There are 110 Fire and
Rescue Volunteer Teams in Sg Maong, Tabuan Jaya, Kampung Kudei and RPR Batu
Kawa. They were established on Oct 20. (BP)
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