Fire volunteers to train to fight fires

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Central Jakarta Fire Department has held a five-day training course for 50 fire volunteers from subdistricts in the mayoralty.

The head of the department, Idrus Paddai, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday the training course was part of an annual program to encourage citizens to get more involved in protecting their neighborhoods from fire.

"It is impossible to rely solely on firefighters," he said.

He said that because firefighters sometimes had difficulty reaching fires in crowded neighborhoods, it was important that residents had the skills to help fight blazes.

The 50 volunteers form the first of seven batches of volunteers who will be trained this year. Idrus said he hoped these 350 new volunteers would in turn pass on their knowledge to at least 30 other residents in their neighborhoods.

"If residents have the proper knowledge of fires and how firefighters work, they will really help us in fighting fires," he said.

He said residents' lack of knowledge about fires often resulted in hostility toward firefighters. Recently, residents attacked firefighters and damaged their equipment when they were fighting a blaze in Karet Tengsin, Central Jakarta. One fireman suffered a head injury and a truck and motorcycle were damaged.

"They were emotional and they just did not understand how we work," Idrus said.

He said that if more people had the proper knowledge, residents would let firefighters do their job and assist them by performing tasks such as securing the area from looters, clearing the streets for fire trucks and leading the firemen to water sources.