Penang's Fire Hydrants

Click here for the Rob and Yuehong Life in Penang, Malaysia index.

Elsewhere on this site is information covering water related subject such as rain gauges, catchment areas, some of the lesser known dams and reservoirs and the PBA which is responsible for the island's water supply. One of the important uses of that water is for fire hydrants ('Pili Bombah'. I spend 8 months in the year in the UK where such creatures lead a low profile existence underground, covered up against frost damage. In Penang, they are generally visible above the surface.

They are not things which I had ever paid much attention to but recently we were out to dinner in Sungai Pinang with a friend from Bangkok and he stumbled on one which he thought might date back to colonial times. I still don't know how old it is but it sparked some brief but intensive research, described below. The internet suggests that there are some 400,000 fire hydrants in the country and maybe some 10,000 are non-functioning, a figure which my very limited experience suggests may be a gross underestimate. In Bahasa Malaysia, I believe they are known as 'Pili Bombah'.

This page gives some historical background and today's situation. I should stress that my knowledge is 'empirical' by which I mean it is based on observation rather than printed and web sources, as such it should not be considered as 100% reliable. Generally they seem to be painted red or yellow. The latter according to the web are 'private' being found around places like condos and hotels, the former are either 'public' or higher capacity 'private' ones. My observations cover the areas where we hike on the island, roughly between Batu Ferringghi and Gertak Sanggul taking in the west coast between Pulau Betong and Pantai Acheh, these are either rural or semi-rural. Urban areas may show a different pattern.

Some of these have a cast plate on the base or it may have lettering cast as part of the base.  This is the inscription which started it all, I believe it reads Glenfield & Kennedy, Kilmarnock (Scotland). Others either have no markings or the base is invisible underground. The collar appears to be an identification tag 'BPU A 018' older ones have this painted on.

We have seen two similar hydrants with the name 'Ban Sin' on the base, followed by '& Co' and 'Sdn Bhd'. The latter is the Bahasa Malaysia equivalent and is presumably at least a little bit newer. Both also carry 'Made in Penang', the company is now known as 'Syarikat Besi Ban Sin Sdn Bhd' being based in Prai according to the web, not an area I am likely to visit! I am not in a position to say whether these represent authorised copies or otherwise. Certainly it is likely that some are relatively new, there being examples on the access road to our condo on the edge of Batu Ferringhi which was built in the 1990s.

Here are a couple of anonymous examples. The first is technically 'private' and is outside the JKR (Jabatan Kerja Raya, Public Works Department) in Balic Pulau, I think it counts as 'preserved'.. The second will be quite new, it is on the access road to our condo built in the 1990s. 

'Modern' fire hydrants are represented by Ban Sin products.100mm was the traditional size, 75mm will be acceptable where smaller buildings are concerned. The right hand one carries '2017', presumably the date. I have spotted one similar to the "BAN SIN" below with "AVA" in the central area of Georgetown in passing.

VLE https://lye.com.my/fire-hydrants/ is a Selangor based company according to the web. The yellow one carries '100mm, 01 18 (date?), JKR' and the red one carries '100mm, JKR',  

It is fair to say that many of the yellow hydrants look 'unloved', it is my understanding that the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Service (Bomba) has overall responsibility for checking that hydrants are in serviceable condition which makes a lot of sense as it is their personnel who will be required to use the hydrants in an emergency. From what I have read it is the PBA (water board) who will supply drinking water in the event of interruptions in the public supply. To be fair, the one on the left is outside the derelict Mutiara Hotel in Teluk Bahang which is under renovation. The one on the right is at our condo.

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