SHAH ALAM, April 1 — A total of 49,794 fire hydrants across the country are broken or faulty, raising concerns about safety and emergency responses during fires, said the Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM).
This figure represents 13.7 per cent of the 363,340 public fire hydrant units checked during JBPM’s annual inspection last year, Berita Harian reported.
JBPM said detailed analysis revealed that absent metal components were the main cause of the damage.
“Statistics show that 10,424 (fire hydrant damage) cases involved the loss of outlet pillar caps, 8,109 cases involved missing chamber covers, and 3,359 cases were of severe physical damage such as broken or severely damaged hydrant pillars.
“The absence of these components not only puts the internal system at risk of foreign matter invasion and mechanical damage, but also affects the smoothness of the connecting hose during a critical period in extinguishing operations,” JBPM said, as reported by the Malay-language daily.
JBPM added that damaging or interfering with fire hydrants is not a minor case of vandalism, but a risk factor that can affect incident management.
“When firefighters arrive at the scene and notice the fire hydrants are blocked, buried, or missing essential components, the original response plan has to immediately be revised.
“This delay forces firefighters to rely on alternate methods such as limited water from their tankers or relay pumping techniques, which require a lot of work and time.
“Any delay in activating a water source increases the possibility of small fires escalating into larger disasters that threaten lives.”
JBPM reminded the public that damaging or blocking fire hydrants is a violation of Section 26 of the Fire Services Act 1988.
It also advised the public to report damaged or obstructed fire hydrants to the authorities so fixes can be made and potential risks can be mitigated during fires.
