JOHOR BARU, April 29 — Kelantan and Terengganu lead the pack when it comes to firemen with the greatest number of health problems, said Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad today.
He added that the 2023 Fire Tactical Skills Test results had found that 18 per cent of firemen in Kelantan had significant health problems, followed by 13 per cent of their colleagues in Terengganu, 12 per cent in Johor and Penang, and 9 per cent in Labuan.
Nor Hisham also said the test conducted by the department’s training division, showed that Johor was ranked 11th position with a passing percentage of only 69 per cent.
“Johor ranks among the top state for firemen with the highest health problems, which makes up 12 per cent of the department’s total employment in the state.
“This figure is quite worrying. So, drastic improvement measures are needed, with healthier and quality lifestyle changes so as not to interfere with the quality of the firemen’s work,” he told reporters after attending the Johor Fire and Rescue Department’s commendation ceremony at the Holiday Villa Hotel here today.
Also present was Johor Fire and Rescue Department director Siti Rohani Nadir.
Nor Hisham said the test will be a national score benchmark between state department starting next year after it was initially started as a pilot programme at the national level for last year.
He said the programme was aimed at tracking the health performance of firemen and firefighters across the country.
“The Fire Tactical Skills Test results last year had a total of 12,608 participants. From that number, a total of 9,313 firemen passed the test, while the remainder 3,126 failed.
“From the number of failures, 423 participants had critical problems and 901 had normal health problems.
“This was followed by 446 participants with muscle injuries, 185 who did not finish the test, 96 who did not attend the test and 32 who were pregnant or had just given birth,” he said.
Nor Hisham said five state Fire and Rescue Departments that achieved excellent results with 80 per cent and above ratings Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Sabah, Perak and Pahang.
For this year, he said the department had taken drastic measures by incorporating the fitness test results as a work requirement for full-time fire officers and auxiliary officers.
“In this regard, from now on all firemen cannot be careless in implementing the Fire Tactical Skills Test because that is one of the elements that are evaluated in one’s work performance,” he said.
Despite being a pilot project last year, Nor Hisham said the Fire Tactical Skills Test will be a benchmark to set the national score.
He said the test scores for this year will be the basis for the state evaluations.
Earlier in his speech, Nor Hisham said that the department needed to make thorough preparations in terms of firefighting and rescue, as well as law enforcement related to fire safety, as Johor would become a developed state in the next two years with various large-scale projects.
