CHECK CLADDING, BUILDING OWNERS TOLD

Replace them if they pose fire risk, says Fire and Rescue deputy D-G

THE Fire and Rescue Department wants all buildings using polyurethane (polyfoam) cladding to replace them immediately.

Its deputy director-general, Datuk Soiman Jahid, said all buildings must get the cladding checked to see if they posed a fire risk and needed to be replaced.

He said the department would issue a circular to remind building owners to carry out safety inspections on building structures to prevent fires similar to the recent one at the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) building in Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya.

“The department is identifying buildings using polyurethane cladding... (Once this is done) the department will issue these premises notices to replace them before enforcement is carried out.

“At the moment, we do not have the exact number of buildings using these cladding. However, directives have been sent to our state directors to gather the information before notices are issued,” he said, adding that state directors had been given a month to prepare a detailed report for the department’s headquarters.

Soiman said most of the buildings which used the composite cladding were those built more than 10 years ago.

According to by-laws, he said, all construction materials used in a building project must be of minimum Class O, meaning these materials were not easily flammable.

It was reported that the cladding panels used on the exterior of the EPF building did not meet fire safety requirements and a simple spark could have ignited the flames in the 11.50am incident on Tuesday.