Fire Dept pushes for better welfare of its personnel

Fire Dept pushes for better welfare of its personnel

JOHOR BARU: Several proposals will be submitted to the government to look into the welfare of almost 12,000 firemen and auxiliary firemen nationwide, says the Fire and Rescue Department.

Its director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said a review of the present allowances paid to firemen doing 12-hour and 24-hour shifts was among the proposals.

“Unlike other civil servants with eight hour jobs, firemen are placed on shift duties to mainly man all 337 fire stations nationwide round the clock.

“Firemen on the 12-hour shift are paid a special monthly allowance of RM110 while those on 24 hours get RM220 each month,” he said in an interview.

Nor Hisham said under the proposal, they hoped the allowances would be increased to RM200 and RM600, respectively.

He added that the move would benefit almost 10,000 firemen involved in shift duties at fire stations nationwide.

He said they were hopeful that the government would give the nod for the increase as these rates have not been reviewed for almost 17 years.

As for the 2,200 auxiliary firemen nationwide, he said presently, they were getting RM8 per hour.

“We hope those who have served a certain number of years will get better allowances.

“On our part, they will be given priority when we hire full time firemen.

“The government should also consider including auxiliary firemen into the department’s welfare scheme, so that they could get some assistance if injured or killed in the line of duty,” he added.

Presently, an auxiliary fireman is paid RM8 an hour for 12 hours with 20 working days, which comes up to RM96 per day or RM1,920 per month.

Each year, they receive RM125 clothing allowance and an annual bonus of between RM200 and RM500 for reporting for duty.

They also get a pair or shoes and two sets of uniforms.

On another matter, Nor Hisham urged the government to consider increasing the special allowances for firemen who have a variety of skills.

“We are thankful to the government that all firefighters and officers are getting a special allowance of RM200 monthly since a few years ago.

“Our divers, meanwhile, are receiving RM150 per month while our K-9 unit is getting RM200,” he said, while expressing hope that the department’s pilots would also be recognised and given the same allowances as pilots from the air force and police.

“Senior fire officers should be placed under a time based promotion, similar to the benefit accorded to teachers,” he said, adding that firemen faced a lot of challenges and hazards when performing their duties.

Citing an incident last month, Nor Hisham said three firemen attending to a house fire in Skudai got electrocuted during the operation.