The visit began at the NDMC building. The renovation project involves the Ministry of Home Affairs' initiative to upgrade the old Fire and Rescue Headquarters to better coordinate disaster management in the country by employing state-of-the-art technology with the capability to accommodate multi-agency workstation environment.
With the new building, NDMC will have a Disaster Command Centre that will be linked to disaster-related agencies, namely Fire and Rescue, medical, military, police etc.
Facilities that will be made available include disaster incident management system, GIS system, automatic vehicle location system, assets management system, etc. Such facilities are crucial in time for any civilian emergency requiring multi-agency deployment.
Later, the minister visited the Fire Rescue Department Communication and Mobilisation Centre. This is the nerve centre of the Fire Rescue Department's operation. As part of the e-Government initiatives, the Fire & Rescue has implemented a fully functioning Fire and Rescue Management System, known as FRMS. It consists of a call taker system, voice logging module, computer aided dispatch system and audio visual link to all fire stations nationwide, automatic vehicles location system, personnel assets management system and fleet management system, etc. The technology is used by many developed nations and has been proven effective in achieving optimal operation capability. With FRMS, the Fire & Rescue will be on a better footing to plan and implement strategies to handle emergency prone areas with more appropriate equipment and skills.
The final stop was at the Rimba Fire Station project site, which is under the 9th NDP that will be completed by the end of this year. It will provide better response by shortening the response time to incidents around the area.
Highway patrols, search and rescue ops at Bukit Shahbandar, patrolling high profiles areas like UBD, ITB, Empire Hotel, DST HQ, Tungku Gas Plant (TGP) and many others will come under the purview of the Rimba Fire Station once it's established.
Unlike many other fire stations, the Rimba Fire Station will have many facilities including an admin block, cafeteria, multi-purpose hall, sports centre, living quarters and so on.
The minister's entourage from MOHA included permanent secretary, deputy permanent Secretary, Director and Acting Director of Fire & Rescue, as well as other senior officers.
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Quelle/Source: Borneo Bulletin, 06.04.2009
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