South Kalimantan BPBD Builds Five Forest Fire Posts Around International Airport

Banjarmasin (ANTARA) - The South Kalimantan Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) has built five posts to accelerate the handling of forest and land fires in priority areas around Syamsudin Noor International Airport, aiming to prevent disruption to flight activities.

Head of the South Kalimantan Provincial BPBD Ronny Eka Saputra stated in Banjarbaru on Wednesday that a total of 14 field posts are being prepared to speed up the response to forest and land fires. “The area around the airport is the main priority in handling forest and land fires. The second priority covers the northern region of South Kalimantan, including Barito Kuala, Tapin, South Hulu Sungai, Central Hulu Sungai, North Hulu Sungai, and Tabalong regencies,” he said.

“For ring one, we have set up five field posts, namely in Guntung Damar, Pengayuan, Bati-Bati, along Jalan Gubernur Sarkawi, and in Alalak, Barito Kuala, precisely around the UMB campus. The other nine posts are spread across regencies and cities in the province,” he added.

According to Ronny, the presence of these field posts is expected to accelerate the team’s response time when receiving fire reports, so that flames can be brought under control before they spread. “We hope that with these field posts, the team’s response in tackling forest and land fires can be faster, preventing the fires from spreading and causing wider impacts,” he said.

He added that the operation of the posts involves various elements in an integrated manner. Cross-agency synergy is considered key to the success of handling forest and land fires in South Kalimantan. “All elements are involved in these field posts, from the military, police, Manggala Agni, the Forestry Service, the Social Service, the South Kalimantan Provincial BPBD, district and city BPBDs, to Fire Care Communities and volunteers. We hope this collaboration will strengthen prevention and suppression efforts across the entire region,” Ronny stated.

With the support of field posts spread across strategic points and synergy among various parties, the South Kalimantan Provincial BPBD is optimistic that forest and land fire management can be carried out more quickly and effectively, minimising the impact on communities, the environment, and air transport activities.