Central Lombok Regency Government Still Lacks Fire Cars, Currently Only 2 Units Operate

Only 2 firefighter units belonging to the Central Lombok Regency Government, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) can be used (Photo Via ANTARA)

LOMBOK - The government of Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) still lacks fire engines (Damkar) in handling fire disasters in 12 local sub-districts.

"Of the four units of fire trucks, only two units can be operated," said the head of the Central Lombok Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), H Ridwan Makruf, in Praya, as reported by Antara, Thursday, May 5.

With these conditions, when a fire occurs in an area outside Kota Praya, it is not uncommon for the fire to be extinguished before arriving at the crime scene (TKP), because the distance is too far.

So that in anticipating fires in 12 sub-districts, 12 units of fire trucks are needed, so that the distance is closer. "If we look at the area of Central Lombok, we need 12 units. However, the current budget conditions do not allow for procurement," he said.

In addition, fire management also requires posts in each sub-district or in three zones, namely the northern zone and the southern and central zones. So that officers can move quickly when a fire occurs and the fire can be extinguished quickly.

"In addition to firefighters, we also need monitoring posts in each zone, so that the distance traveled is faster," he said.

Meanwhile, the current number of personnel is 85 people, but the problem is that on average they are temporary employees.

"We still need to increase human resources, because not only fires are handled by BPBD officers, but when there are drowning victims, either in rivers or the sea, they still come down to help search," he said.

Apart from firefighters, the condition of flood disaster management equipment such as large and small tents for evacuation needs to be procured. "We have one inflatable boat. Ideally we should have four units," he said.

The areas prone to natural disasters in Central Lombok are spread over 12 sub-districts, such as landslides in the northern part of Central Lombok and floods in the southern areas of Central Lombok and in Praya City.

"This flood condition is caused by the silting of the river and piles of canoes and the intensity of the rain is quite high," he said.

Therefore, the steps that must be taken to prevent the occurrence of floods in addition to reforestation are dredging irrigation canals or rivers in Central Lombok. So that when there is heavy rain, the rainwater does not overflow into people's homes.

"The condition of the river in Central Lombok needs revitalization, so there will be no more flooding," he said.

He said that the Central Lombok region had installed tsunami mitigation tools in the southern region to support the Mandalika Special Economic Zone (SEZ). However, the range of these tools is limited, so additional equipment is needed so that the sound is wider and can be reached by the public.

"We have also installed earthquake warning mitigation tools at the Central Lombok Regent's Office," he said.