Three firemen injured in fire-fighting operation at used paper processing plant

State Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (Operations) Senior Superintendent I Mohamadul Ehsan Mohd Zain, in a statement today, said the injured were Muhd Farhan Shaari@Zakaria, 41, Muhd Alawi Mohd Norizan, 34; and Nurul Harfizah Ahmad, 41.

All of them are from the Sungai Petani Fire and Rescue Station, who were in a team that rushed to the scene after receiving a distress call at 5.18 am, he said.

He said Muhd Farhan was injured on his right leg when a stack of papers fell on him, while Muhd Alawi suffered burns on his neck due to the melting of the neck strap of the breathing apparatus.

Nurul Harfizah was slightly injured on the cheeks, he said, adding that all of them were sent to Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital for treatment.

On the fire at the plant, he said the fire fighting operation involved 30 firemen from the Sungai Petani and Aman Jaya fire and rescue stations, who were assisted by 10 volunteer fire squads from Semeling, Bedong, Sungai Petani, Merbok, Bakar Arang, Padang Lembu, Gurun, Kota Sarang Semut, Tanah Merah and Kepala Batas.

The department is investigating the cause of the fire and losses incurred, he added.