| By Achong Tanjong
Bush and grass fires top the
list of the most numbers of emergencies calls recorded by the
Fire Services Department in the last two years.
According to the department's
statistic, the number had increased drastically to 917 last year
as compared to only 699 cases recorded in 2001.
Many of the bush and grass
fires were caused by spontaneous deeds due to the dry spell that
hit most the region in previous years.
The fire prone areas were in
the Brunei-Muara district, Tutong and between Seria and Sg Liang
in the Belait district. Last year there were some 402 bush fires
and 515 grass fires, while in 2001, there were 308 and 391 fires
recorded, respectively.
The overall record of lands
damaged by the fires were 1,562.294 hectares last year as
compared to only 955.087 hectares in 2001.
Overall the department recorded
a total of 2,942 emergency calls on various cases last year
compared to 2,648 emergency calls in 2001. Of that, 64 deaths
and 571 injuries cases were recorded in the past two years. Most
of the deaths and injuries recorded involved car accidents.
House fires and drowning claimed 5 and 10 lives respectively
within the period.
Meanwhile, the Fire Services
Department managed to save a total of $59,063,845.00 worth of
property with losses amounting to $18, 635, 532.65 in the past
two years in related fire disasters.
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