PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA: The country can do with more women firefighters.

Housing and Local Government Ministry secretary-general Datuk Ahmad Kabit said becoming a firefighter would be an ideal job for women who love outdoor challenges.

"We do not limit the number of women who want to work in this department.

"Those who are eligible and passed the tests can become a firefighter and the job is equally rewarding,?" he said, adding that there were only 300 women among the 12,000 firefighters in the country and there was plenty of room for more.

"We were surprised to receive overwhelming response during our recruitment exercises, but it was mostly males who applied," he told reporters after visiting the Fire and Rescue Department yesterday.

According to the department, it received about 30,000 job applications when the vacancies were only for 500 positions.

Ahmad said the department should continue to embrace changes and challenges so that it could provide efficient service to the public.

He said the department should strive to achieve international standards in many fields, adding that while its equipment and facilities had already achieved the standard, the population-personnel ratio could be improved.

The present ratio is one fireman for every 2,000 population while the international standard is 1:1,000.

"I am pleased to note that the department's response time meets the world standard, which is 10 minutes after a distress call is made," he added.

Fire and rescue department director-general Datuk Hamzah Abu Bakar said better remuneration has spurred the interest of many people to join the service.

Last year, Hamzah said, a total of 50,849 distress calls were made, of which 21,712 were to report fire incidents.

He added that losses due to fire amounted to about RM1bil (S$417.4 million). --The Star/Asia News Network

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