SEREMBAN: Fireman Mohd Firdaus Sulaiman, (pic) who died from injuries sustained in an explosion while putting out a blaze at a factory in Segamat, will be posthumously promoted, says Johor Fire and Rescue Services Department chief Datuk Yahaya Madis.

       He said department director-general Datuk Seri Mohammad Hamdan Wahid had agreed to promote the 32-year-old Mohd Firdaus, who died at Hospital Segamat early yesterday.

       “He will be promoted to the higher rank of KB22 from the KB19 post he was in. He was a dedicated officer who had served the department since 2012,” he said when met after the deceased was laid to rest at the Qaryah Masjid Jamek Dato’ Klana Petra Sendeng Muslim cemetery here.

       Mohd Firdaus, who had been serving at the station since 2014, was one of two firemen who sustained injuries during the incident at the wood processing factory on Saturday. He is survived by his wife Nurul Jannah Abd Hamid Khan, 29, and their three-year-old daughter.

       Yahaya said the other fireman received outpatient treatment and had been discharged.

       However, a factory worker who was with them during the explosion also succumbed to his injuries a few hours after Mohd Firdaus’ passing.

       “The incident, which is just like an explosion caused by a gas leak, happened after the fire at the factory had been put out.

       “Mohd Firdaus, his colleague and the factory worker had gone to inspect another area when the incident happened,” he said.

       The explosion had occurred on the third level of the factory, causing a partial collapse of the structure.

       Yahaya said Mohd Firdaus suffered second degree burns to his face as well as injuries to his shoulder and pelvic bone, but succumbed to respiratory-related injuries.

       Mohd Firdaus’ widow Nurul Jannah Abd Hamid Khan said they were supposed to have moved into their new house in Segamat this month.

       “We have been renting a house and planned to move into our own this month. But it was not to be,” she said.

       Nurul Jannah, who turned 29 on Dec 9, said Mohd Firdaus had insisted on celebrating her birthday the night before.

       “Previously, he would celebrate my birthday maybe two or three days later but this time it was different,” she said, adding that they were married in 2017.

       Nurul Jannah, who works as a school clerk, said she had rushed to the Hospital Segamat intensive care unit at about 3am after getting a call that Mohd Firdaus’ condition was critical.

       “The doctor said my husband’s condition was deteriorating and that his oxygen level was also dropping.

       “When I got to the hospital, I recited some prayers for him and 10 to 15 minutes later, he was gone,” she said.

       Mohd Firdaus’ mother Noorlina Abdullah, 64, described the third of her five children as a filial son.