LABUAN: There will be no Hari Raya break for 152 firefighters in the duty-free-island here.
This comes after the Labuan Fire and Rescue Department froze the leave of 80% of its 190 firefighters to be on standby for the 14-day ‘Ops Raya’ beginning today (May 6).
Its director Ismaidi Ismail said his men would be on standby round-the-clock during this festive period.
“Applications for leave have been frozen as we want to focus on safe Hari Raya celebrations,” he told reporters after the launching of a fire safety campaign at Bataras Hypermarket by Senator Datuk Bashir Alias, here today.
He said firemen whose wife lives outside Labuan were given the opportunity to go on leave on a rotation basis this year to enable them to celebrate Raya with their loved ones.
“Those who went on leave last year for the first day of Hari-Raya will have to give way to their colleagues, this year,” he said.
Ismaidi said firefighters from five stations in the island would be deployed in hotspots and accident-prone areas during the festive season period.
He also reminded the public to always exercise caution when using appliances and avoid overusing them.
“The fire incident that involved five houses which occurred early this year was due to excessive use of electricity,” he said. — Bernama
