50 firefighters' long march to celebrate Golden Jubilee

FIFTY of Brunei's firefighters last night embarked on the first 50km, 10-hour endurance road march.

The number of the team members and the distance covered signified the 50th anniversary of the Fire and Rescue Department.

Thirty-seven male and 13 female fire personnel joined the march dubbed the "Fire & Rescue Endurance" to mark the department's golden anniversary.

The team was led by Station Officer (SO) Mohd Rosdy Hj Abd Halim, Deputy Station Officer (SO) Pg Hashim Pg Hj Othman, Assistant Station Officer (ASO) Unding Anak Lagat and ABK101 Tahir Hj Ahad.



Policemen escorted the firefighters throughout their journey to ensure the safety of the marchers.

In addition the team also carried with them 30 breathing apparatus, six paraguard stretcher and six snap tank.

The march began from the Bandar Seri Begawan fire station with the Fire and Rescue Department's headquarters in Old Airport, Berakas as their final destination.

At exactly 8.45pm, the siren sounded signalling the start of the march of the firefighters.

The marchers' expected time of arrival at the Fire and Rescue Department headquarters was estimated at 7am today.



The endurance march involved walking through the main road in Bandar Seri Begawan, Jln Kumbang Pasang, Jln Berakas, Jln Menteri Besar, Jln Kebangsaan Lama, Jln Salambigar, Muara-Tutong highway and Jln Lambak.

The firefighters would also perform subuh prayers at the Serusop Mosque before continuing their journey to the Fire and Rescue Department headquarters.

Ten checkpoints were designated along the marchers' way.

Upon arrival at the headquarters, the team would further test their endurance by pulling a water tanker filled with 5,000 litre of water using a rope for a distance of 50 metres. This was to test the team members' physical and mental endurance in the face of challenges that they faced in the line of duty.

The objective of the endurance march was to show the commitment to duty and country, and its mission to carry out its duty during emergencies.

Among those present to lend support was Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mohd Lufti Abdullah.

The Brunei Times