Fire and Rescue Badgework 2016

12th Kuala Lumpur Boys Brigade one day educational excursion to Jalan Hang Tuah Fire Station

On the 26th of March, 2016, the 12th Kuala Lumpur Boys Brigade company held a one day educational excursion trip to a fire station located at Jalan Hang Tuah. The purpose of this excursion is to help members obtain their Fire and Rescue award and bond with each other at the same time. It is the first time such an outing is held in the company.

As advised by Captain Nicholas a week earlier, all the members who attended were at the station before eight and in their Company T shirts. However, some members did not receive a last minute advise due to various reasons. Because of that, not all the members wore the same outfit for the whole day despite being expected to.

After the registration was done, all the members had to fall in for Opening parade ,which attendance was taken and the Negaraku and The Anchor Song was sung as per BB tradition.

Then, the members was directed to a lecture room which our Captain addressed us on our schedule for today and our coaches for the day, Mr Amin and Mr Sahfezal introduced themselves and gave a short lecture on basic safety and briefed us further on our activities for the day.

Our first activity and lesson for the day was learning the “Fireman Lift” , the do’s and don’ts of it and the steps of it. After giving the members a demonstration of how the “Fireman Lift” is done, the members were allowed to practice it for a while before being called out to be examined on it. However, as some members were either too heavy or simply could not get the technique right, the practice session was far from uneventful.

After the “Fireman Lift” technique practice, the members were allowed to use the Fireman’s pole and were allowed to practice different sliding techniques to slide down it. The members were told to use a technique which used their hands for support while using the legs to control the rate of descent. However, as some of the members were either were acrophobic or were lacking in height, not all members were able to use it. Some of the members bravely managed to overcome their phobia of heights and try sliding down the pole. Even our beloved Captain himself tried successfully sliding down the pole.

As soon as as the session was over, Sergeant Nicholas split the 73 members into 2 groups, who then explored the firetrucks in service in their firetrucks. This includes showing them the equiptment and tools used by them. They had everything in the trucks, ranging from traditional axes used to knock down their respective groups. Our instructors took a group each and showed the members around locked doors to a broom like object made of rattan used to put out forest fires. The members even got a chance to go inside the truck and experience what its like to be in a firetruck, getting ready mentally and physically for the big task ahead.

After their interesting tour around the truck, the members were given some time off to have their lunch and relax for about 45 minutes, then, it was time to mess around with fire extinguishers. We were led back to our lecture room for a briefing on fire extinguishers. Mr Amin briefed all of the members on the types of fire extinguishers availiable and the directions on how to use them. He even demonstrated how to use one live in front of all the members by activating a Carbon Dioxide fire extinguisher, taking everyone by surprise. A few lucky members were able to try out extinguishing fires themselves using a type ABC Powder fire extinguisher and a proper fireman’s suit. Even though not all members were

privellaged enough to get a chance at using the fire extinguisher. However, the members were able to grasp the rough idea of using one and hopefully might prove useful someday.

Next, our instructors showed us the types of hoses used for their operations and they showed us how to roll and unroll the long and extremely heavy hoses of theirs. Each and every member was allowed to perform various tasks using the hoses and eventually, it turned into a race between the members. Finally, the members were allowed to play with a fire hose and we used it as a way to cool down after a hot and heaty day by showering everyone with cool water.

All good things must come to an end. After every single member was wet, we had our closing parade and vesper. After which, the members were dismissed and allowed to go home.