PT Putra Perkasa Abadi's Emergency Response Team Wins Overall Champion at the Indonesia Fire & Rescue Challenge (IFRC) 2022

BANYUWANGI — The Emergency Response Team (ERT) of PT Putra Perkasa Abadi (PPA) claimed the overall champion title at the 19th Indonesia Fire & Rescue Challenge (IFRC), held in Banyuwangi, East Java from 13 to 22 November 2022. PPA was named overall champion after winning 5 gold and 2 silver medals across the eight categories contested.

The five golds came in the Structural Firefighting (SFF), Road Accident Rescue & Mass Casualty Response (RAR & MCR), High Angle Rescue (HAR), Hazmat Spill Response (HSR) and Water Rescue (WTR) categories. In the Confined Space Rescue (CSR) and Firefighter Fitness Drill (FFD) categories, the PPA ERT took silver. On top of that, PPA also received the Best Team Improvement award in the non-competition category, along with Best Captain for Hendrik Aprianto.

Second place overall went to PT Berau Coal with 2 golds and 1 silver, followed by Adaro Indonesia in third with 1 gold and 2 bronzes.

The Indonesia Fire & Rescue Challenge (IFRC) is an annual mining rescue team competition, this time hosted by PT Bumi Suksesindo. This 19th edition was contested by 24 national mining rescue teams including Berau Coal, Antam, Vale, Pertamina Hulu Energy and Pama Persada, alongside a number of other mining, oil and gas, energy and mining services companies.

The overall title won by PPA, a mining services company, is a historic first for an event that has run since 1995, as the overall championship had always previously gone to mining and oil and gas companies. It underlines Putra Perkasa Abadi's full commitment to safety in every aspect of the mining work the company undertakes.

"Masih banyak yang melihat safety di pertambangan merupakan sebuah cost (beban), tapi tidak bagi kami. PPA melihat safety, healthy dan environment (SHE) merupakan sebuah investasi. Sehingga kami tidak ragu mengalokasikan unlimited budget untuk hal tersebut. Untuk mendapatkan hasil SHE yang optimal dibutuhkan tim yang mempunyai kompetensi di bidangnya dan pencapaian Emergency Response Team kami hari ini menjadi bukti bahwa PPA bukan hanya mempunyai visi dan misi saja, tapi juga telah mempunyai tim yang teruji," said PPA President Director Christianto Setyo after receiving the 19th IFRC rotating trophy in Banyuwangi on Tuesday (22/11).

Before taking the prestigious title in Banyuwangi, the PPA ERT was also overall champion at the Indonesia Fire & Fighter Competition 2021 and the Kalimantan Fire & Rescue Challenge 2022. This latest win makes PPA the first mining services company to hold the overall titles of both the Indonesia Fire Rescue Challenge and the Indonesia Fire Rescue Competition.

Beyond competing to train and sharpen its skills, the PPA ERT frequently takes part in the disaster relief programme of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM). Since 2018 the PPA ERT has been deployed at least 15 times to help disaster victims, including the Lombok earthquake (2018), the Palu earthquake and tsunami (2018), the Banten earthquake and tsunami (2019), the South Kalimantan Tanah Laut floods (2020), the flash floods and landslides in East Nusa Tenggara (2021), the South Kalimantan Tanah Bumbu floods (2021), the eruption of Mount Semeru (2021), the West Sumatra earthquake and landslides (2022) and, most recently, the Sangatta floods in East Kalimantan (2022).

"Bagi kami menjadi juara itu hanyalah bonus, yang terpenting pada setiap event kami dapat menambah teman, menambah pengetahuan dan mengasah keterampilan, sehingga bisa berguna bukan hanya di dalam perusahaan, tapi juga bermanfaat bagi masyarakat luas. Membantu korban bencana secara responsif dan tanggap merupakan salah satu bentuk nyata kepedulian PPA sebagai perusahaan yang senantiasa berupaya untuk dapat berguna bagi bangsa dan negara," concluded PPA Head of Corporate Communication Adri Thanada.