KUALA LANGAT, Mar 3 — Selangor Fire and Rescue department chief today said nearly 50 per cent of the ongoing fire at a forest reserve here has been extinguished and further works are being carried out from stopping the blaze from spreading.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Norazam Khamis said approximately 48.9 per cent of the fire has been put out five days since firefighting efforts began.
“An estimated 51.1 per cent of the fires are currently undergoing the process of extinguishing, with cooperation from the Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) the Civil Defence Force, the Kuala Langat Municipal Council, the Selangor Disaster Management Unit, and others,” he said during a press conference near the site of the fire.
Some 50 hectares, divided into eight compartments, are under fire. Norazam said of the eight, six of the compartments have been most affected.
“Up to 152 officers and personnel have been roped in to extinguish the flames since it was first reported at 1am on Friday (February 28)
“The department has taken several steps to augment its efforts, including direct-effect extinguishing, reactivating the tube vents, reactivating six wells to channel water to the affected areas, as well as total probing,” he said.
The director said preliminary investigations have revealed the fire was likely caused by intruders into the forest reserve, who broke in.
“It also appears the fire may have begun earlier than was initially reported to us, having gone on for at least five days before February 28.
“Since fires have broken out in the reserve before, fire breaks were prepared beforehand but needed to be cleared up again,” he said.
Norazam added the breaks helped to stop the fires from spreading elsewhere in the reserve, with 10 excavator heavy machines on hand to dig up more breaks.
“We are expecting more excavators to be brought by tomorrow, which the Disaster Management Unit will handle so that the flames can be contained. MMEA will also send several bombardier aircraft to disperse water over the fires.
“The authorities are also faced with several challenges in putting out the fires, including strong winds during the middle of the day, and the threat of dead big trees, whose roots may also be burning which could potentially cause them to collapse upon personnel,” he said.
