Almost 12 Hours Needed To Extinguish 6.8 Hectare Bushfire In Melaka

MELAKA, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) took nearly 12 hours to fully extinguish a bushfire at Taman Muzaffar Heights, Ayer Keroh, which spread across 6.8 hectares.

Its Melaka Operations Commander,  Senior Fire Superintendent II, Mohd Khairulnizam Mohamad Anuar, said the department received an emergency call at about 5.50 pm yesterday, following which 29 firefighters from four fire and rescue stations (BBP) were deployed to the scene.

"Upon arrival, they found a bushfire covering an estimated 1.2 hectares, involving three areas, with Area A, located at the top of the hill next to Muzaffar Heights Condominium (Area B) and Area C, near the Tenaga Nasional Berhad substation.

“Firefighters from the Ayer Keroh BBP  tackled the flames on the hilltop (Area A) using two 500-foot (152 metres) hose streams connected to the fire truck’s water tank, assisted by the Tangga Batu BBP team,” he said in a statement today.

He said the team from Bukit Katil BBP was responsible for fire suppression in Area B, while the Melaka Tengah BBP handled operations in Area C.

“In this operation, we were also assisted by Syarikat Air Melaka Berhad (SAMB) which opened the nearest water tank to provide us with a water source.

"The operation ended at 5.28 am today. It took quite a long time to control and extinguish the bushfire due to the strong wind, with the dry and hot weather being among the causes of the fire spreading rapidly," he said, adding that also involved in the operation were the Royal Malaysia Police, the Malaysian Civil Defence Force, and the State Forestry Department.

-- BERNAMA