Bandung Police Deployed to Anticipate Forest and Land Fires

Personnel from the Bandung City Police (Polrestabes Bandung) have been deployed to anticipate forest and land fires (karhutla) during the dry season in the Greater Bandung area and West Java. They are working together with the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), and other elements.

Bandung City Police Chief Senior Commissioner Dedi Supriyadi said forest and land fires are not merely ordinary natural disasters. Rather, they are a real threat that can cripple ecosystems and the community’s economy.

“Entering the early dry season, the potential for forest and land fire disasters in the West Java region has increased quite significantly,” he said during a forest and land fire troop deployment ceremony at the Bandung City Police headquarters recently.

He said forest and land fires pose a real threat to ecosystems, the economy, health, and the survival of future generations. The troop deployment ceremony was carried out as a crucial step to check personnel readiness as well as the completeness of supporting facilities and infrastructure in the field.

Dedi said all relevant agencies must be in a state of readiness and coordination to tackle potential disasters from an early stage. He also highlighted the importance of cross-sector collaboration.

Forest and land fire handling, Dedi said, cannot be resolved by a single agency alone. Rather, it requires the active involvement of the TNI, the Indonesian National Police (Polri), BPBD, Basarnas, volunteers, and all levels of society.