WATER BOMBING SCHEDULED TOMORROW FOR KOTA TINGGI PEAT FIRE - FIRE DEPT

KOTA TINGGI, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- Helicopters will be deployed tomorrow for water bombing to speed up efforts to put out the peat fire along Jalan Sungai Kapal and Taman Bayu Damai, Pengerang, which has affected 99.54 hectares since it started on Friday.

Punggai Fire and Rescue Station chief, Leading Fire Officer II Ezam Mistorerrodin said the use of helicopters was vital to fight peat fires that are hard to access on the ground and often burn below the surface.

“Fire breaks have been dug around the areas affected by the fire for total flooding, while water bombing  operations tomorrow are expected to help speed up the process of putting the fire out,” he said when met at the location of the fire today.

The joint operation between the Fire Department, police and other agencies has managed to put out fires at about 28.33 hectares or 28 per cent of the affected area as of noon today, Ezam said, adding that they will continue to fight the fire on the ground till midnight, while the water bombing will begin at 9 am tomorrow, depending on weather and wind conditions.

The number of evacuees being housed at Dewan Serbaguna Taman Bayu Damai and Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Kapal due to the peat fire has risen to 150 people from 49 families as of 4 pm today.

Checks by Bernama at the location of the fire revealed that the area was covered in thick white smoke, which caused breathing difficulties and reduced visibility to about 150 metres.

Firefighters from the Punggai and Sungai Rengit Fire and Rescue Stations, along with Civil Defence Force members were seen fighting the fire around Jalan Langkah Baik 3 as well.

-- BERNAMA