Fire safety regulations are in place

FOR most Malaysians, the fire at the Employees’ Provident Fund’s (EPF) building in Jalan Gasing must have been shocking. While it is fortunate that there were no human fatalities, the incident is shocking as Malaysia has very stringent fire safety standards and fire safety requirements governing the building industry.

Additionally, the Fire and Rescue Department constantly conducts fire safety awareness campaigns in schools and public buildings to minimise loss of property and death during a fire. Owners or management bodies of all buildings are required to comply with the fire requirements in the Uniform Building By-Laws (UBBL) 1984 (Revision 2012).

The Fire and Rescue Department has reported that preliminary investigations indicate that the cladding did not adhere to safety regulations. Fire and Rescue Department deputy director-general of operations Soiman Jahid is reported to have said that the building is fitted with poly foam cladding which is easily flammable.

Under the Fire Services Act 1988 (Act 341), designated buildings are subjected to an annual inspection by Fire and Rescue Department personnel for certification that the premises “comply with the life safety, fire prevention, fire protection and fire-fighting requirements.” Why wasn’t the cladding detected during the annual inspection? The cladding on the EPF building certainly wasn’t installed recently, so this should have been detected during the annual fire certification inspection and this unfortunate incident could have been prevented.

Immediate and positive action must be taken to identify the shortfall or mistakes and correct them to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

The Fire and Rescue Department should implement strictly the annual inspection for fire certification to ensure that designated buildings comply with the life safety, fire prevention, fire protection and fire-fighting requirements under the UBBL. These annual inspections should be conducted by qualified professionals, including engineers with expertise in fire protection.

We look to the Fire and Rescue Department for fire safety in our living environments and the implementation of fire safety requirements in the building industry. IR. WONG CHEE FUI Kuala Lumpur