APRIL INCREASES FIRE MONITORING IN CONCESSION AREAS
Jakarta, 17 September 2014 – As a precautionary measure APRIL has raised its fire detection patrols to their highest level as the Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) tracked an overall increase in fires in parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan which resulted in haze in Singapore and Malaysia.
APRIL Fire Fighter monitors fire danger rating
“There are no active fires in our concessions today, but we are intensifying aerial and ground patrol,” said Ian Wevell of APRIL Fire Ground Operations.
With the weather predicted to be increasingly dry in the coming weeks, all of APRIL’s concessions are on high alert for fires, with trained fire fighters and suppression equipment on standby ready for deployment around the clock. The Indonesian weather office reported that wind direction is likely to continue to push upward from Sumatra to Singapore.
APRIL implements a strict no-burn policy. The company has invested heavily in fire suppression equipment and trained firefighters to combat fires that encroach into its area.
Land and forest fires have been an annual problem in Indonesia, mostly during the dry season, as small landholders employ illegal slash-and-burn techniques to prepare land for agriculture.
