Johor religious schools among 83 buildings adhering to fire safety requirements

JOHOR BAHRU: A total of 83 out of the 154 buildings, including madrasah, tahfiz and other religious schools identified in the state have undergone fire safety inspections since mid-year.

Johor Fire and Rescue Department director senior assistant fire commissioner Othman Abdullah said the buildings inspected had complied with fire safety requirements.

“A meeting between the relevant agencies were held to coordinate duties and responsibilities with existing madrasah and tahfiz,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

Othman said the state department also cooperated with the Johor Education Department to obtain the list of schools with hostels to conduct inspections, which were being given priority due to issues of safety exits and ‘sleeping risks’.

He said inspections on all these buildings were expected to be completed within the next three weeks.

At the same time, he said the Pondok Fire Squad would continue to be reinforced by making the setting up of the squad compulsory at all religious schools in the state.

Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar wanted the department to take immediate action to identify schools at high risk of fire outbreaks, including religious schools, tuition centres, boarding schools, primary and secondary schools, he added. — Bernama