Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia

Mountain Search and Rescue

After the Sabah earthquake that happened on 5 June 2015 affected Ranau and Mount Kinabalu, a specialist Mountain Search and Rescue team (MOSAR) was formed out of the Kinabalu Mountain Guides of Sabah Parks on 23 June 2015.^[5] In a ceremony at Ranau Fire Station, 20 Kinabalu Mountain Guides were appointed as Auxiliary Firefighters and designated as the founding members of MOSAR. The ceremony was officiated by the then Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.^[6]

MOSAR takes its place among Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department's specialist rescue units, which includes the Special Tactical Operation and Rescue Team of Malaysia (STORM) and the Multi Skill Team (MUST).

HAZMAT & CBRNE Team

Formed on 29 October 1992 based on the recommendation made by the Royal Commission of Enquiry on the Bright Sparklers Fireworks disaster. Initially, the team was known as Hazmat Team and in 2001 after the September 11 disaster the department decided to incorporate the CBRNe component to its name. This elite team are well trained to deal with both man made and toxic industrial disaster. They are part of training provider for Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and also the main rescue agency under the National Security Council Directive No.18 and 20in Malaysia. it was ^[12] Hazardous Material Unit Team or commonly known as "HAZMAT" is a JBPM's Special Force trusted to handle with five types of hazards which is:

1. Handling hazardous chemical spills.
2. Decontaminate JBPM personnel that have been exposed to hazardous materials.
3. Handling radioactive and radiation-emitting materials.
4. Handling fire caused by hazardous materials.
5. Handling Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Exposure (CBRNe) during wartime.

MUST Team

Multi-Skill Team (MUST) is an elite airborne team of JBPM.^[13] Formed on 11 September 1998, MUST is formed by combining all special trained firefighters into one team and supported by helicopters from JBPM Air Wing.^[14] MUST units are usually deployed whenever a certain special unit is unavailable in a certain area or when extra assistance is requested by other special units. MUST primarily serve as helicopter-borne firefighters mainly tasked with rescue involving airborne rappelling insertion.

Although MUST is primarily an elite airborne unit, MUST can conduct support operations to assist other divisions (that are unavailable or requested) such as:

• High Rise Rescue
• Water Rescue
• Major Road and Traffic Accident management
• HAZMAT Operations (Support unit)
• General Search and Rescue (basic) first responder
• Emergency Medical and Rescue (helicopter-borne extraction)
• Jungle Firefighting
• High Angle Rescue
• Air Rescue (rappel insertion)

All MUST members are trained in helicopter-borne, emergency management in aircraft, jungle survival and sea-land navigation.

Elite JBPM Rescue Swimmer Unit is attached to MUST.

RIM

Rapid Intervention Motorcycle Team (RIM) was formed in 1999 to tackle problems of late arriving rescue caused by traffic jammed in the big city.^[15] With superbikes equipped with basic Firefighting and rescue equipment, RIM team can handle small scale fire and Road and Traffic Accident (RTA) without having traffic problems.^[16] During bigger scale of fire, RIM team will arrive early and assess the size and type of incident, building, and materials involve and victim if any. RIM team also will help control the traffic for the fire truck movement.

Water Rescue Unit

Pasukan Penyelamat Dalam Air (PPDA); also known as Water Rescue Unit, their role is to deal with incidents and emergencies that occur in the water. This unit consists of qualified officers and men trained at local and overseas diving training centres. All members of the JBPM Water Rescue Unit are certified divers from the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI).^[17]

PASKUB

Pasukan Khas Udara Bomba (PASKUB) (English: Bomba Special Air Services) is a command for elite Smokejumper with support of helicopters from JBPM Air Wing.

Smoke Jumpers Unit (Malay: Unit Payung Terjun Bomba) is an elite unit of JBPM and trained in parachute insertion (static line and freefall), helicopter-borne operation and jungle survival.^[18] The formation of elite Smoke Jumper began in 2000 after JBPM sent five firefighters to enter the Basic Static Line Parachuting Course held at Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Sempang Air Force Base, Sungai Besi as the pioneer team Smoke Jumpers.^[19] The course was conducted by RMAF Special Operations Force, PASKAU until 2007 when JBPM established their own Static Ramp Air Course.^[20] Among the task of Smoke Jumper is:

• Combat Air Rescue Medic
• Medical Evacuation (Medevac)
• Deep jungle/Isolated Area Firefighting Operations

Smoke Jumper enjoys good relations with Malaysian Armed Force Special Operations Forces as they always train with RMAF PASKAU, Malaysian Army Grup Gerak Khas from PULPAK and Royal Malaysian Police VAT 69 Commando.^[21] PASKUB members are selected from various units including STORM, MUST and EMRS.

EMRS

Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) Team was formed in 2006 with cooperation from the Malaysian Ministry of Health and Malaysian Association of Traumatology and Emergency Medicine (MASTEM). EMRS was established as a Special Force Paramedic to rescue and conduct medical care to other JBPM Special Forces members if any incident occurs to them.^[22] However, EMRS can rescue and conduct medical care to civilians if there are no other ambulance or paramedics from the Malaysian Ministry of Health or State Health Department around.

Typically, EMRS team is assigned to HAZMAT and Water Rescue unit and EMRS vehicle will go out in pairs with the other JBPM Special Forces vehicle to operations. EMRS members are also usually tasked as paramedics during JBPM Special Forces and Special Operations Forces Selections.^[23]

Some EMRS members are trained in HAZMAT and Scuba diving.

K9 Unit

Detection Unit (K9), commonly known as K9 Unit, uses trained dogs to operate in the Search and Rescue (SAR) operations and investigation. The K9 Unit can be attached to the regular firefighting unit or JBPM Special Forces. The K9 Unit are typically deployed for fire investigation, urban search, bodies recovery, and wilderness search.^[24][25] JBPM's K9 Unit was first set up in Kuala Lumpur in 2002, which serves the entire Peninsular Malaysia.^[24] In 2018, the K9 Unit was expanded to both the state of Sabah^[26][27][28] and Sarawak,^[29][30][31] thereby extending the unit's coverage to East Malaysia.^[24]

As of August 2025, JBPM only has 20 K9 dogs, with 13 dogs housed in its Jalan Klang Lama headquarters, and the other 7 stationed in Sabah and Sarawak. Among the 20 dogs, 15 are operational ready, while the remaining 5 are on "cage rest" due to age or illness.^[24][25] In April 2025, the department announced 16 new K9 dogs will be added to the unit,^[32] with nine dogs for Peninsular Malaysia, five for Sabah, and two for Sarawak. They were expected to arrived in Malaysia in October 2025 and operational by November.^[33] 15 out of the 16 K9 dogs arrived in Malaysia in October 2025, with the remaining one dog disqualified due to underwhelming performance. It's replacement is slated to arrived by the end of October and all 16 dogs will be deployed for official duties in December 2025.^[34]

In August 2025, it's revealed that the department is planning to set up new K9 centres in Penang and on the East Coast to cut down deployment time.^[25] On 17 November 2025, it's confirmed that the new K9 centre in Penang will be built on a 5 acres (2.02 hectares) site at the Bertam Fire Station and JBPM Northern Region Air Base,^[35][36] which allow fast deployment to East Coast areas as well through JBPM's air unit.^[34] The Ministry of Finance has approved RM19 million for the construction of the new K9 centre, and the centre is expected to be operational by early 2029.^[35][36]

Dog breeds employed by the unit include Labrador Retrievers and English Springer Spaniels, which are sourced from the United Kingdom. However there are plans to breed K9 dogs locally, which will be the first for the department. K9 dogs under the JBPM typically serve until they are 8 years old, but may be extended to 10 years old if the dogs are in good health.^[25] Retired dogs will continue to remain under the care of their handlers in the department until their death. The department do not euthanise retired dogs unless they are severely ill, and would only do so under a veterinarian's advice.^[25][37]

In 2023, K9 Unit under JBPM has been deployed for 308 cases. In 2024, the unit also handled 345 cases, a 12% increase from the previous year.^[25] Since 2022, JBPM's K9 Unit has experienced a surge in popularity among the Malaysian public, particularly after the 2022 Batang Kali landslide,^[38][39] and the National Day parade in 2023.^[40][41][42]

Special Force Boat Team

A support team task to support JBPM Special Forces with water transportation during operations involving of lake, river and sea. The boat crews are trained in water survival and able to perform water rescue to JBPM personnel and civilians if necessary.

STORM

Special Tactical Operation and Rescue Team of Malaysia (STORM) unit is a part of the Malaysian Rapid Deployment Force (Malay: Pasukan Aturgerak Cepat; PAC) together with 10 Parachute Brigade (10 PARA) but with different task and role. Formed in March 2011, STORM winning^[43] is a Search and Rescue (SAR) experts and on standby for 24/7 at JBPM Airbases and State Branch Headquarters. Storm unit mainly task with SAR operations involving:^[44][45]

• Night rescue operations
• Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (Advanced) and Technical Rescue
• Deep-jungle rescue
• Cave rescue
• Air-sea rescue
• Mountain rescue
• Large-scale natural disaster
• Airplane and Helicopter crash

Dubbed as Komando Bomba (English: Bomba Commando), to be selected as STORM members, firefighters need to pass the rigorous selection course which is on par as Basic Commando Course.^[46] Eligibility requirements including Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) standards of physical fitness that is also used by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) before trainee can even enter the Basic Storm Course.^[47] Once pass the Storm Survival Course, the graduate will receive a tactical knife, the same sort used by RMAF PASKAU, STORM patch and permission to wear STORM Red Helmet and STORM Version Camouflage Dress.^[48]

Many of STORM members are drawn from Water Rescue Unit (PPDA), EMRS, HAZMAT Unit and MUST.^[49]

For big operations, STORM work together with other federal SAR Special Force; Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) which under administration of the National Security Council.^[50] They are usually supported by the jungle experts, the aboriginal police unit; Senoi Praaq, Royal Malaysian Police's (RMP) VAT 69 Commando and General Operations Force, Malaysian Armed Force special operations force and Malaysian Civil Defence Force.