Out Of 616 RWs In Yogyakarta City, 703 People Are Registered To Become Volunteer Firefighters

Yogyakarta City Fire Department personnel extinguished the fire that devoured the building. (Instagram @damkarjogjaistimewa)

YOGYAKARTA - The Yogyakarta City Fire Department (Damkar) now has 703 firefighters. They are tasked with educating and outreaching to the public regarding efforts to prevent and manage fires.

Head of the Yogyakarta City Fire and Rescue Service Octo Noor Arafat said, Volunteer Firefighters (Redkar) is a national program implemented in the regions.

In the national program, the formation of Redkar is carried out on a village basis with 10 personnel in each kelurahan.

However, in the city of Yogyakarta the program was developed to be based on the Rukun Warga (RW) environment with at least one Redkar personnel in each RW.

"In the city of Yogyakarta, there are 616 RWs and currently there are 703 Redkar personnel registered with the damkar," Octo said in Yogyakarta, quoted from Antara, Monday 15 August.

In addition to educating the public about the dangers and prevention of fires, Redkar personnel are also tasked with helping convey information about fire incidents in their area to firefighters.

"Redkar was asked to help provide information on the exact location of the fire, the condition of the access road, to the nearest hydrant point," said Octo.

With the right initial information, he said, fire handling could be done more optimally so that losses and victims from disasters could be minimized.

"Volunteers are also asked to condition the environment around the fire location so it doesn't become a spectacle so that fire handling can run smoothly," he said.

Redkar personnel are registered in the Ministry of Home Affairs database. They have a special registration number and receive training to increase their capacity to assist in the early handling of fires.