Manggala Agni Sumatra successfully extinguishes forest fires in Bangka protected forest
The Manggala Agni Forest Fire Control Brigade of the Sumatera Region, under the Ministry of Forestry, has successfully extinguished two forest and land fire incidents in the protected forest of Mapur Village, Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands Province.
“At the request of the Environment and Forestry Office of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province, we deployed one team to assist with forest and land fire suppression during this extreme dry season,” said Ferdian Krisnanto, Head of the Sumatera Region Forest Fire Control Brigade, in Pangkalpinang on Sunday.
He said that over the past two days, from Friday (14/8) to Saturday (15/8), Manggala Agni personnel deployed in Bangka Regency successfully extinguished two forest and land fires at two locations.
The first incident, extinguished on Friday (14/8), occurred in Mapur Village, Riau Silip District, Bangka Regency, covering an area of 0.5 hectares.
“The Manggala Agni team received the information, immediately responded and carried out ground suppression at the Mapur Village location to prevent a larger fire in the area,” he said.
To extinguish the protected forest fire in Mapur Village, Bangka Regency, the brigade deployed one personnel transport vehicle, one water tanker, one collapsible tank, two portable pumps, and hand tools.
“Currently, an escalation in forest and land fires is also occurring in Bangka, and some time ago it was visible from satellite imagery. One of the sources of smoke in Sumatera is also from Bangka,” he said.
“We sent one team of personnel from the Manggala Agni Banyuasin Operations Unit in South Sumatera to assist, and they are still carrying out operations,” he added.
He warned that current conditions are highly vulnerable. With the dry season accompanied by a strong El Niño, he urged the public not to clear land or gardens by burning.
“We urge the public not to burn land, and if possible not to burn rubbish in vulnerable areas or leave fires still burning. We must not let our behaviour harm and destroy nature,” he said.