The fireman's creed: Victims presumed alive until proven dead (Updated)

KUALA LUMPUR: Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) Director-General Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said today that it is embedded in the spirit of a fireman to save lives and this is impelled by many factors, especially the sight of a grieving family anticipating the rescue of a loved one.
He said there were among the emotions felt by the group of firefighters who arrived at a disused mining pool at Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong, to search for 17-year-old Mohd Ilham Fahmy, the teenager who had fallen into the waters at 5pm on Wednesday.
"It is not in the spirit of a fireman to sit along the bank of a pool and watch for a body to emerge from the waters. We do not presume someone is dead until we fish out a lifeless body or can no longer resuscitate the victim.
"We are hopeful that a victim is alive and could possibly be clinging to his life hoping he is saved. Our hearts are with the victim's family and our goal is to save lives. We put ourselves in the shoes of the victim and his family and with that we head out to execute our duties," he said.
Mohammad Hamdan was prompted to comment by theSun on several news reports and social media postings that alleged the six firemen who drowned during the search-and-rescue operation last week were poorly trained, ill-equipped and unprepared to handle what has been dubbed a 'suicide mission'.
He said the six men who lost their lives were not regular firefighters but were specially-trained personnel of the FRD's water rescue unit.
"It is easy to pass such comments and opinions when one is not there at the scene. They are not the ones who run into burning buildings or jump into swift water conditions. They have no idea of the spirit of a firefigher and what he feels in his heart. It is alright as they have the right to speak their minds or make their hypothesis.
"However, they should put themselves in the shoes of the family of the victim. If it was their child, mother or sibling in the water, would they not want us rescuers to quickly find their loved ones? It is inculcated in every fireman that saving lives is what we do and this instinct grows stronger each day.
"My men could have cited the dangers of the strong water currents and chosen to sit by the bank of the pool and wait but that is the last thing on a true firefighter's mind. Do they want us to stand there and watch or wait for the weather to subside? What will others do, give them a round applause?
"We received condolences from FRDs all over the world including rescue experts and instructors who have undergone the same routine. This includes those from the US, UK, Hong Kong and Macau and not even one had said they would have done it any differently.
"They said they would have done the same thing. Every firefigher is family to me and I lost six brave ones who did their best on Wednesday. I am proud of them. We might not be perfect but we gave our best," said Mohammad Hamdan.
He also reiterated that his men had observed the basic standard operating procedures (SOP) and believes they had made the decision to enter the waters because it was the best option at the time.
Mohammad Hamdan said his men's intentions were to find the victim, if not alive, then to at least hand over his remains to the bereaved family members who were anxiously waiting at the scene.
He said any SOP is neither fixed nor is it a 'bible' that cannot be amended or improved.
"If there are shortcomings that we can correct, then we will. We are always looking for ways to improve and to those who make all sorts of comments, if they have constructive and positive suggestions, we welcome it. However, it is not healthy to heckle and make destructive comments which are hurtful and will help in no way," he said.
Mohd Hamdan said the six fallen firemen, identified as Yahya Ali, 24, Mazlan Omarbaki, 25, Muhammad Hifdzul Malik Shaari, 25, Izatul Akma Wan Ibrahim, 32, Adnan Othman, 33 and Mohd Fatah Hashim, 34, will receive compensation of over RM100,000 in the form of ex-gratia payments, insurance and from the FRD's associations and cooperative and other payouts meant for civil servants killed in line of duty.
He also said that the FRD will apply for posthumous promotions for the men, and their next of kin will be entitled to monthly pension payments.
"We will also look into the welfare of their children and their future education when they grow up," he added.