'Abang Bomba' teaches water safety tips amid the monsoon season

Did you know that members of the media are also frontliners during natural disasters?

This is because they have to be at ground zero, where the action is.

Of course, being a frontliner comes with risks.

For instance, if we are faced with floods, we are at risk of drowning or being stranded in a location. As a team, we need to know how to react should an emergency happens.

I attended a training for this with the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department at Saujana Lake Putra, together with other media outlets, where we leanred how to survive in an emergency situation, especially amid the monsoon season that occurs annually in Malaysia.

Not only that, the upcoming 15th General Election is happening soon, and most Malaysians are worried if a thunderstorm or a flood will take place since the Malaysian Meteorological Department says the northeast monsoon period will begin sooner than expected and will continue until March next year.

The Sinar Daily team was up and ready at the lake around 8am for a morning briefing by Selangor Senior Assistant Superintendent of Fire Operations, Tuan Juyana @ Azlan Musa where he explained what we will learn throughout the training.

He explained that while it is fun to practise and "play" with water, there have been moments in the real situation where reporters fell off the boat while recording a flood scene, and immediate action must be taken to save the person from drowning.

The training mainly focused on saving a drowning victim and the skills needed to save each other in a group.

The first training was saving a drowning victim in case they fall into a river or a stream with strong current.

Juyana taught us to use any tools or objects that can be found around us, and on that day, we were given a wooden branch, a piece of cloth, and a rope.

I had to lay down on the ground by the lake and use the wooden branch to reach the drowning victim and pull them back towards the land. Luckily, I was strong enough, because after three tries I no longer had the strength to pull the victim.

It was the same scenario with the piece of cloth, but it was a different situation with the rope since we had to learn how to loop the rope around our hands without making a knot (it was three metres long and heavy) in a short period of time and throw it to the victim to pull them back to land.

Once we learned those skills, we moved on to the middle of the lake. The scenario was as though we were stranded middle of the sea or in a large perimeter water area with a group of people.

Bear in mind, all these methods required a lot of energy and strength. The most important key to successfully executing it is to not panic!

Let me give a breakdown of all the methods taught:

1. SOS Position - This technique is used in a situation if you are stranded and if you want to signal attention to an airplane or helicopter flying over.

Step 1: Each person would have to lie on the back with legs straight and lock elbows with each other in a circle.

Step 2: After locking elbows together, as a team, we would have to swim towards each other on our backs (contract) and pull away while still locking elbows (expand).

Step 3: Repeat the same steps of contracting and expanding to signal the airplane or helicopter that is flying above.

2. Carpet Position - This technique is used when one of the victims is injured or is losing strength and in need of a rest.

Step 1: Form two lines while locking elbows with the person next to you.

Step 2: Face each other and intertwine your legs with the person in front of you while still attached to the person next to you to form a space for the victim.

Step 3: The injured victim will try to swim and lie down on top of the legs that are acting as support for the victim.

3. In-line stream - This final technique requires the most strength.

It comes in handy when we are stranded, we see a shore in our sight, and we need to swim towards it as a group. I say this requires the most strength if one of the victims does not know how to swim, and we need to make them swim together because no man should be left behind!

Step 1: Everyone must form a line, and their backs must be facing the shore.

Step 2: The person behind must lock their legs around the person in front and then elect one person to be the captain to lead the course.

Step 3: The captain will have to give orders to the rest of the team to put their arms up and extend their arms forward underwater. Make sure to keep your hand flat and parallel to the water's surface.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 according to the captain’s order, and the team will be moving towards the shore.

It is easier than it sounds, but it requires a lot of energy. To do all three methods, teamwork is much needed in these situations.

I hope that by learning all these skills, I will use them wisely when the situation arises, and most importantly, I hope I won’t panic and will try my best to save others.