Manggala Agni firefighters from the South Sumatera Karhutla task force’s joint land and air team try to put out a fire in North Indralaya district, Ogan Ilir regency, South Sumatera, Sunday (06/08). It is believed the fire was caused by local residents using the slash-and-burn method. The South Sumatera Karhutla task force has been working hard to put out the fire which has burnt through a lot of land, including peatland.
Feryanto, 34, strived to break through the 40-centimeter deep peatlands in search of a hotspot in the Sungai Rambutan area of North Indralaya district, Ogan Ilir regency, South Sumatera. The member of the Banyuasin Operation Area’s Manggala Agni firefighting brigade moved slowly amid the thick, boggy water in search for a safe path so as not to cause him to fall down.
Feryanto did not pay attention to the thorns of typical peatland plants, such as belidang and duri elang, which scratched and pricked his body. His attention was focused on the hotspot and the 30-meter hose he carried with him. As soon as he approached the hotspot, he shouted, "Turn on the water!" His colleague, Freddy Gusman, 37, who was in charge of handling the pump equipment, responded and not long afterwards, water gushed from the hose. Feryanto immediately aimed the water at the burning hotspot.
Thick smoke soared high into the sky, following the winds. After nearly 20 minutes, the fire was extinguished, and Freddy and Feryanto moved on to try and find other hotspots. Feryanto took a short break. Several scratches from thorns were visible on his hands. "It will be painful when I take a bath later," he said.
Along with Freddy and Feryanto, hundreds of firefighters had joined forces from institutions such as the Indonesian Military (TNI)/National Police, a team of the South Sumatera Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), and Ogan Ilir regency’s BPBD. Firefighters from other regions like Ogan Komering Ilir and Lahat had also been deployed to put out the peatland fires in the Sungai Rambutan area.
Fighting fire has become the daily fare of the land and air troops, who work to extinguish both forest and peatland fires in South Sumatera. Disregarding the time it takes to do the job, they are risking their lives to accomplish one mission: extinguishing the fires as soon as possible.
By land and air
Based out of Sukarami village, Pemulutan district, located 200 meters from Feryanto and Freddy’s site of operations, the South Sumatera land and air firefighting team was struggling to extinguish fires in other areas. A strong wind spread the fires rapidly. Racing against the wind, the firefighters must be skillful in operating their equipment.
The land team was depending on a 1-meter-wide,1.5-meter-deep canal as their source of water. They continued extending their hose to reach the hotspot. The firefighters must be careful in gauging distance, as the wind direction was uncertain. If they make a mistake in determining their position, the fire could blaze toward the firefighters.
Firefighters in the air were no less busy. Helicopters took turns in water bombing hotspots from the air, combating the fires from various directions quickly. Four helicopters had been deployed to extinguish the fires in a number of areas.
Residents were force to flee their houses, as the fires were endangering their lives. Mardila, 58, a resident of Sukarami village, Pemulutan district, hastily called out to his family to get out of their house, which had filled with smoke.
Thick smoke had also spread along a highway linking Palembang and Indralaya. The fire burned vegetation about 100 meters from the highway, encircling the vital access road. Motorists were forced to turn on their lights because of poor visibility. The fire had also spread close to a nearby high-voltage electricity tower.
Ogan Ilir Integrated Command Post coordinator Adhendy Desmana said approximately 170 hectares of peatland had burned since early August. The fire started from Arisan Jaya village in Indralaya, but because of strong winds, it had grown and was spreading quickly.
The firefighters’ alertness had managed to repel the fire and prevent it from spreading further. The firefighting team was strict in requesting the villagers not to utilize slash-and-burn agriculture, like Bukit Batu village in the Air Sugihan district of Ogan Komering Ilir.
"Don\'t burn anything, OK, Sir. If you are found to have done this, the sentence is very heavy," said Supriyadi, the Bukit Batu firefighting team commander, during their public dissemination session.
Supriyadi and four members of his team were in charge of patrolling 910 hectares of farmland in the village. They patrolled the area from morning to afternoon every day in an effort to help prevent fires and extinguish the as soon as possible. "As soon as a hotspot is detected, the team will mobilize immediately to put it out," he said.
Burn pattern
Despite the aggressive campaign to disseminate information on fighting forest and peatland fires, many villagers still used the slash-and-burn method of clearing land. However, they had shifted the schedule for burning from the morning to the evening. The method was applied by burning mosquito coils in areas sprayed with kerosene, so there was enough time for those who lit the fires to run away before the fires grew big.
"That is why there are always fires when the firefighters are away," said Adhendy.
South Sumatera BPBD head Iriansyah said that from January to June, the number of hotspots in South Sumatera had continued to rise, so the fire patrols had been intensified in response. The two regencies currently prone to fires are Ogan Ilir and Ogan Komering Ilir.
In order to anticipate the fires, the land and air teams are continually on standby. Four helicopters are prepped and ready. Iriansyah said they had proposed the addition of two more helicopters to anticipate the fires. More integrated command posts would also be established.
Fire readiness and anticipation measures are in place to prevent a repeat of the 2015 fire disaster, when about 736,000 hectares of peatlands in South Sumatera burned, with 27,000 hotspots.
Najib Asmani, a special staffer at the South Sumatera climate change office, said his office was now coordinating with a number of parties to map the areas vulnerable to fire.
