Regional Representative Council Member Backs One Fire Brigade Unit per Village as Long-Term Solution to Forest and Land Fires
Sampit (ANTARA) – Regional Representative Council (DPD RI) member Siti Aseanti, popularly known as Bidan Sean, has backed a proposal to provide one fire brigade unit in every village as a long-term solution to prevent forest and land fires.
“Firefighting cannot simply mean putting out the flames and then moving on. We need short-term and medium-term measures, and, if necessary, permanent solutions. We know the same cycle happens every year: a long dry season, forest fires and a clean-water crisis,” Bidan Sean said in a telephone interview from Sampit on Monday.
She said the approach to tackling forest and land fires should change, with greater emphasis on prevention and community preparedness. Firefighting equipment at village level is important, she said, so fires can be tackled quickly before they spread, particularly in areas that are difficult for outside crews to reach.
“If one ambulance per village is possible, then this year’s experience should teach us that we need one fire brigade unit per village,” she said.
In addition to improving firefighting resources, Bidan Sean urged the central government to declare the forest and land fires in Kalimantan a national disaster.
She said the fires had continued for months, claimed the lives of volunteers and affected residents, and threatened conservation areas, warranting serious attention.
She cited fires in Tanjung Puting National Park in West Kotawaringin regency. The government, she said, needed to take firmer action to prevent the fires from spreading further and putting people and the environment at risk.
“This has been going on for more than a month, even for months. There have been deaths, among both volunteers and people affected by the smoke. Even Tanjung Puting National Park has caught fire. What are we waiting for if not to declare this a national disaster immediately?” she said.
She said she had been monitoring the fires in Central Kalimantan since receiving reports of them in August 2026.
Together with her team, she has distributed masks, vitamins and basic food supplies to residents and volunteer firefighters working to tackle the blazes.
The volunteers are under heavy strain, she said, as they work around the clock while new fire hotspots keep appearing, even after fires at previous locations have been extinguished.
She added that efforts to tackle the fires could not rely solely on extinguishing them once they had grown. The government should prepare clean-water reserves for the long dry season and strengthen the supply of firefighting equipment in fire-prone areas.
Co-ordination between central and local governments should include visits to affected areas, she said, so that residents’ needs—from firefighting equipment to clean-water supplies—can be assessed directly.
In the current situation, she said, the priority should be joint action to reduce the impact of the fires, without neglecting law enforcement against those responsible for burning forests and land.
“The most important thing is to go directly to the affected areas. We need to understand what people actually need. Finding someone to blame is no longer the main priority, because the fires have spread widely. We need to work together to ease the burden on those affected,” she said.