BNPB chief targets fastest possible response to forest and land fires

Jakarta (ANTARA) — National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) chief Lieutenant General Kristomei Sianturi is targeting the fastest possible response to forest and land fires to reduce their impact on the public.

“The target is as soon as possible. As quickly as possible. We must not let this continue, because the people are already being affected,” Kristomei said at the State Palace in Jakarta on Thursday.

He stressed that disaster response should be measured in minutes, not hours, so action can be taken immediately and loss of life prevented.

“Responsiveness is counted in minutes, not hours. That is what we will evaluate going forward, so there are no more preventable deaths,” he said.

As an initial step, Kristomei said he would visit the fire sites as soon as possible after holding internal discussions with BNPB officials.

“Immediately. As I said, we count in minutes, not hours,” he stressed.

Kristomei said tackling forest and land fires requires the involvement of multiple parties, as BNPB cannot work alone. The central and regional governments, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police and the public need to work together to speed up the response.

On the possibility of foreign assistance, he said BNPB would first map the capabilities and resources available at both national and regional levels to determine whether additional support was needed.

He also plans to review estimates of the affected area based on monitoring by the Sipongi and NASA satellite systems to establish the scale of the fires and their impact.

“I’ll first check the facts and data available now from satellites. There’s Sipongi, and then NASA’s monitoring results. What is the actual area affected? That can be calculated. And what is the impact?” he said.

Kristomei stressed that public safety is the top priority in disaster management, including the response to forest and land fires.

“The most important thing is to make sure there are no casualties. That comes first,” he said.

President Prabowo Subianto formally inaugurated Kristomei as BNPB chief on Thursday, replacing Lieutenant General Suharyanto.