Kangar: The Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Perlis branch has made significant progress in reducing its emergency response time, recording an improvement from January to February this year. JBPM director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad stated that the state department successfully reduced its average response time to 10 minutes and 31 seconds over the two-month period, compared with 11 minutes and 12 seconds during the same period last year.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Nor Hisham emphasized that Perlis JBPM remains committed to enhancing emergency response efficiency through the strategic demarcation of care areas. The optimization of fire station assignments and boundary management is yielding positive results, as reflected in the decreasing response time. He highlighted this achievement during a press conference, after officiating the Perlis JBPM Excellent Service Award 2024 ceremony. Also present was the state JBPM director, Wan Mohd Hamizi Wan Mohd Zin.

Nor Hisham noted that Perlis currently operates five fire stations to handle emergency incidents, with the Kangar Fire and Rescue Station (BBP) recording the highest number of operations in 2024, at 347 cases. This was followed by the Padang Besar and Arau BBPs, each handling 254 cases.

To further enhance response efficiency, Nor Hisham announced that Perlis would receive three new Compact Fire Rescue Tender vehicles in stages, starting in April, followed by additional deployments in July and early next year. He explained that these lighter, smaller vehicles, equipped with water tanks, will enable faster movement, especially in areas with narrow roads, winding village paths, and rice fields. This will significantly improve response times and help minimize losses.