It has been nearly a week now since the continuous downpour which had led to the devastating flood. Within these tough times, people have come forward and helped in any way they can.
But one thing that remains unchanged is the perception towards the authorities who allegedly responded late to the distress call, or did not appear at the flood scene at all.
A firefighter has since responded to these public perceptions via his lengthy Facebook post which has since been removed.
However, WORLD OF BUZZ managed to reach out to Akmal, the firefighter, who initially posted the lengthy post explaining why the firemen are sometimes late to the scene. He reiterated that it was not their intention at all to be late as lives are at stake.
“Sometimes, we did not even receive any distress calls from 999 or from the our stations itself,” he explained.
In the meantime, he also provided a list of reasons for the scenarios that caused a significant delay on their arrival, which we think the people should be aware of as well.
- Traffic congestion
- Floodwater covered the road
- Damages on the road
- The current of the floodwater is too strong
- Responding to/handling the tasks at hand prior to the next one
- Responding to the help centre from out of town
- Confusion from the address given (wrong or inaccurate address)
- Obstacles on the road such as fallen trees or electric cables
He also said that some of the people expect them to reach the scene after posting about the flood on social media.
In the original post which has been deleted, Akmal said that even the firemen themselves are outnumbered and with limited assets.
“A team of outnumbered rescuers had to respond to tenth, or sometimes hundreds of calls, and we can only prioritise the cases depending on the risk levels that we are about to face.”
The risks include,
- Getting drowned
- Dangerous bacterial infections
- Being hit by unseen objects
He said that he understands the risks of the job and tries his best to do the rescue works, but what breaks his heart is the insult and the lack of appreciation shown.
“Some even said that we take our wages without doing anything.”
He reminded the people to think before they utter any hurtful words, as the firemen themselves are still human with feelings and that they do not possess infinite abilities.
Rescuing jobs certainly are not always safe and bound to be risky. To the authorities that have risked their life just to ensure our survival, we are forever indebted to their efforts.
Also read: Convoy of 56 4×4 Vehicles From Perak Are On Their Way To Hulu Langat To Help Flood Victims!
