KOTA KINABALU: Malaysians should adopt a self-inspection practice on private and commercial buildings, said Fire and Rescue Department assistant director-general (training division) Mohammad Hamdan Wahid.
He said people in developed countries had started practising self-inspection on their houses and other buildings and they did not depend on firemen as much.
Firemen in these developed countries did not visit every property to check on safety guidelines, he said.
“Their safety awareness is so high that almost every person has the tools and knowledge to inspect their own property before handing over the report to the fire department,” Mohammad Hamdan said after closing the Disaster Management and Public Administration module (Diploma in Public Administration course) yesterday.
He said the job scope of firemen had evolved and expanded a lot since its inception.
They were now practising shared responsibilities with other security agencies in times of emergency and disaster, said Mohammad Hamdan.
He added that they had also trained some 40 Mountain Search and Rescue Auxiliary Firemen (Mosar) to care for the safety of climbers of Mount Kinabalu following the June 5 earthquake last year.
State Fire and Rescue Department director Nordin Pauzi said that Mosar members were made up of mountain guides and staff of Sabah parks.
“They are being given continuous training so that their skills and knowledge on mountain rescue and emergency response stay relevant and updated,” he said.-thestar
