However, he said, there would be no compromises when it comes to operational vehicles as they have to move when calls arrive.

“But we are looking at, for example, utility vehicles for fuel-saving.

“State fire and rescue directors are also being asked to allocate free time on Fridays to hold online meetings with all fire stations so that they don’t have to move around,” he said after attending a convention for volunteer fire brigades at Batu Kawan stadium here.

Nor Hisham said the department has been asked to study ways to organise support programmes, such as public education programmes, in a way that limits vehicle movements.

He also said  weekly meetings are held on the fuel issue, where these issues would then be raised with the housing and local government ministry.

The price of diesel in West Malaysia has been fixed at RM6.02 per litre, up from RM5.52 per litre, for the week ending April 8.

More fires due to hot weather

Nor Hisham said the hot weather had resulted in a 40% increase in fires reported over the last two weeks, compared with peak periods in the last couple of years.

However, he said he is more concerned about the locations of the fires.

“We have areas in Pahang and Johor with more than 100ha of bushes, secondary forest, and oil palm plantations, which pose a significant challenge. For cases involving palm oil plantations, we cut (the trees) down,” he said.