SEREMBAN: The Indonesian government’s effort of fighting forest fire that caused transboundary haze using “water-bombing” is ineffective, said Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Wira Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim.
Wan Mohd Nor said at the moment, Indonesia was keen on getting expert assistance on how to manage peat land fire as well as requesting for asset, such as airplane from Malaysia to support the operation.
However, he said the best approach to dealing with peat fire (like in Indonesia’s case) was using ground troops.
“It is difficult to completely extinguish fire on peat land by using airplanes as it only sprays water from above.
“When dealing with peat fires, we need to flood the area to douse the fire,” he told reporters at a press conference after Kualiti Alam Sdn Bhd’s Emergency Response Command Centre (ERCC) opening ceremony at Bandar Seri Sendayan, here.
He said the department is ready to dispatch 1,500 personnel to the different hotspots in the republic to help combat the fire on the ground.
“We are ready to deploy and send them to the different hotspots. I believe it is a more effective method.
“However, we still wait for further instructions,” he added.