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Fire Dept mulls strategic leave freeze ahead of monsoon

KUALA LUMPUR: The Fire and Rescue Department will conduct a strategic leave freeze of its personnel as part of preparations for the northeast monsoon season, said the department's director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad.

He said the department had communicated the preparation for a potential leave freeze, targeting specific areas in line with the flow of the northeast monsoon.

"I plan to target specific areas (for leave freeze) in line with the monsoon flow. It wouldn't be fair to impose a leave freeze on states that aren't affected by floods, but if the situation becomes critical, a blanket freeze may be enforced to support teams in the affected states," he told reporters after attending the launch ceremony of the Malaysia International Fire Conference and Exhibition (IFCEM).

Nor Hisham said they had also reviewed their focus areas and forward bases in preparation.

"We've reviewed our focus areas and are continuing with the plans we have set, including the establishment of rapid response teams in 22 locations.

"We are also concentrating on forward bases, deploying logistics in Wakaf Tapai, Terengganu, and Ayer Hitam, Johor, rather than focusing too much on Penang this time (for the floods)."

He added that the department was also coordinating with the police and other agencies based on the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) directives.

"Nadma issued Directive No. 1, a disaster management framework. It states that the Fire and Rescue Department will function as the deputy incident commander and forward commander in any incident.

"We also have held two series of training sessions with fire station chiefs to strengthen the application of Nadma Directive No. 1 across all fire stations," he said.

MetMalaysia expects the northeast monsoon to begin early next month. Malaysia entered the monsoon transition phase on Sept 24. This is expected to continue until early next month, with flooding expected in several states.

The northeast monsoon may start in the fourth week of this month, a shift from the initial forecast of the first week of November.

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