KUALA LUMPUR, The rebranding of the Children’s Fire Safety Club (Kelab 3K) to Kelab Bomba Cilik (KBoC) is a collaborative initiative among agencies to broaden fire safety education to include water safety in fire and rescue operations.
Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director-general, Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said the club is aimed at early education institutions, such as preschools, nurseries, and kindergartens, providing basic safety knowledge for children aged five to six.
‘Kelab 3K focused solely on fire safety awareness. Now, under Kelab Bomba Cilik, the curriculum has been enhanced to include water safety awareness as well.
‘These two elements are crucial in early childhood education. JBPM records from 2020 to 2023 show an average of 65 fire-related deaths and 53 drowning cases involving children under six, accounting for 5 percent of all cases,’ he said.
He was speaking after the launch of KBoC at the Hang Tuah Fire and Rescue station, which was also attended by JBPM Operations Divisi
on director Nordin Pauzi, Fire Safety Division director Datuk Khirudin Drahman @ Hussaini, and Kuala Lumpur JBPM acting director Rozihan Anwar Mamat.
Nor Hisham presented Children’s Firefighter plaques and certificates of appreciation to representatives from various pre-school agencies, including the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council, Selangor Islamic Religious Department, Ministry of Education, Department of National Unity and National Integration, Community Development Department (KEMAS), Pasti Department, and Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (ABIM).
He explained that the name KBoC was chosen to standardise the fire brigade’s branding, aligning it with the mission of uniformed bodies at all educational levels, such as the Student Aid Fire Brigade, Fire Brigade (higher education), Fire Cadets (secondary school), and Junior Firefighters (primary school).
KBoC is open to all preschools, kindergartens, and nurseries. Currently, Kelab 3K comprises 1,212 clubs with 34,668 members. Effective today,
all existing Kelab 3K will automatically transition to KBoC.
Meanwhile, Nor Hisham urged the public to remain vigilant of weather changes when visiting water recreational areas to prevent accidents. He noted that several water sites in Gombak and Hulu Selangor, as well as in Perak and Sarawak experienced sudden surges due to heavy rainfall yesterday.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency