Fire safety is no child’s play

I REFER to the report “Snuffed out by apathy” ( The Star, July 1). The recent deadly fires are a wake-up call for all state authorities to adopt the fire safety by-laws under the Uniform Building By-Laws 1984 (Amendment 2012). The amendments were passed five years ago but to date only four states have gazetted them.

The reactive mindset towards fire safety should be eradicated once and for all. Local councils, organisations and owners of private properties should not take action only after a disaster occurs. They must implement and strictly practise safety measures to minimise loss of property and life in the event of a fire.

What are the other states waiting for? Need there be loss of life and property before they adopt the fire safety by-laws?

Fire safety measures and practices are neither child’s play nor just the responsibility of certain parties; they are for every one of us. Building managers or facility managers should take the initiative to educate the occupants of their premises on fire safety.

Every household should have a portable fire extinguisher and those who live in high-rise buildings must not only think of their own safety but of their neighbours’ as well.

Objects such as flower pots, shoe racks and bicycles should not be placed along corridors to keep these areas free of obstruction in the event of an emergency evacuation.

There have also been reports of certain fire departments not having sufficient manpower to conduct inspections on high-rise buildings. In such cases, it would be best for these fire departments to get building or facility managers to give them an assessment report twice a year.

When it comes to safety, there is no avenue for complacency or placing it on low priority. Every organisation, community and family should make the safety of their living or work spaces their number one priority.

Organisations should adopt and implement the “ISO45001 – Occupational Health and Safety Standard” to establish a safe working environment. Facility and building managers should ensure they have sufficient knowledge of safety matters and assist the occupants to implement a safe living or working environment.

We also urge developers to use fire-fighting products that are certified either by the Malaysian Standard (MS1590, MS1745:2004 and MS ISO14520:2004) or their equivalent. Substandard fire-fighting products must never be included in building construction specification. It is the responsibility of the design consultant to ensure the correct specification is met.

Moving forward, we would like to encourage asset (building) owners and facility managers to adopt the newly-introduced “ISO41000 – Facility Management” standards. This would be a significant step forward for the facility management industry and would extend its commitment to continuous assessment and improvement in safety.

This standard will provide global consistency to the delivery of facility management services (including fire-fighting and security services) and help to reach even higher levels of efficiency.