I EXTEND my praise to the personnel from the Hulu Terengganu Fire and Rescue Department for saving a 38-year-old woman from a four-storey plunge on Nov 23 (”Woman saved in the nick of time” — NST, Nov 24).

The footage of the incident was aired on television.

At one point, the camera showed rescuers at the foot of the building waiting with a safety net to catch her.

I had always thought that our fire-fighters used inflatable airbags for such situations.

Does the department have inflatable airbags? If they do, why didn’t they use them?

If they do not, could it be because they are too expensive?

Or does the department not consider them a necessity because they are too bulky to be accommodated in the fire engines?

Expensive, bulky or otherwise, I hope the government will look into this and provide an allocation for the department to procure the life-saving airbags for their rescue operations, not only during suicide attempts from high-rise buildings but also during a fire when victims may have to jump down to escape the heat and smoke.

Safety nets really belong to a bygone era.

MOHD FAIZAL ABDULLAH, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – November 30, 2008