Its director-general, Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said it would be lodging police reports against anyone making such “baseless statements”.
“We would like to ask groups to refrain from making baseless statements and we are currently in the process of lodging police reports,” Hamdan told reporters at Institut Jantung Negara this evening.
He said there are laws against making false allegations and they would take action to protect the department’s integrity.
Earlier today, the Sri Maha Mariamman temple task force, led by S Ramaji, claimed the critically-injured firefighter, Muhammad Adib Kassim, 24, was not assaulted by rioters as earlier reported but was instead run down by a fire engine.
Ramaji supported the claim by showing a video uploaded on Facebook.
However, Hamdan denied the claims and introduced the firefighter in the video as Muhammad Hazim Rahimi, who was present at the press conference. Hazim was not injured.
Hazim said he had been mistaken as Adib because when he ran from the unruly mob, he had climbed into a nearby Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) van, instead of the fire engine.
Adib was badly injured in the fracas at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in USJ25 early yesterday.
The fire department had been called to the scene after a car was torched but the crowd charged towards the fire engines, forcing them to retreat.
Hamdan said the fire engines retreated because they saw that the protesters were carrying weapons and the situation was potentially dangerous.
“You can see for yourselves. You can decide whether there was hostility or whether the firefighters were greeted with hospitality,” he said, asking the public to watch the videos for themselves.
Meanwhile, Selangor Fire and Rescue Department chief Azmi Osman lodged a police report tonight against the “baseless accusation” that a fire truck had run over Adib.
The report was made at the Subang Jaya district police headquarters at 9.20pm.
“We are hoping that police will take further action against the false claim,” Azmi said.
Fireman Adib still in serious condition
Adib was reported to have been seated in the front passenger seat of one of the EMRS vans when he was dragged out by the angry mob.
It was reported that other firefighters were not aware he had been left behind until they reached the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department.
Initially, he was warded at the intensive care unit (ICU) at Subang Jaya Medical Centre but was transferred to the National Heart Institute (IJN) last night.
He was said to have suffered major internal injuries and bone fractures.
A statement issued by IJN said Adib is recovering but is still in critical condition.
“The patient has shown positive response to treatment but is still critically ill and will require constant ICU monitoring and support for a period of time,” it said.
It said conventional treatment was “inadequate” because of his severe internal injuries, which involved the lungs and other organs.
After evaluating Adib, the doctors have decided to offer a full cardio-pulmonary support for the patient with an ECMO (Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation) system.
Adib’s condition is now being monitored by six specialists.