Install sprinklers to ‘snuff’out fire
> Advice to prewar building owners following two cases
GEORGE TOWN: Prewar shophouse owners have been advised to install sprinkler systems in their buildings to snuff out any threat in the event a fire breaks out.
The advice from Lebuh Pantai Fire and Rescue Department senior fire officer II Azmi Ahmad comes after two fires damaged five units of prewar shoplots in a matter of days.
In the latest incident yesterday, two shoplots were severely damaged during a fire along Jalan Pintal Tali .
No casualties were reported in the 2pm incident.
According to Fire and Rescue Department spokesman Azman Hussin, the blaze damaged 90% of an airconditioner spare parts shop while the roof of a unit was damaged.
“Firefighters managed to control the fire by about 3.14pm,” he said in a statement to the media.
He said 34 personnel from Lebuh Pantai fire station were deployed to the scene.
The Fire and Rescue Department is still investigating the cause and the loss from the incident.
In the earlier incident on Tuesday, fire damaged three shophouses in Jalan Penang .
Azmi said having a sprinkler system would help reduce the damage caused during a fire.
He noted the buildings involved in the fire were mostly made of wood which had contributed to the fire spreading rapidly.
However, he told theSun that such a system could be costly to install.
Azmi was overseeing the “cooling” operations at the site after the fire flared up four times since the 10am incident on Tuesday.
The latest flare-up occurred at about 10am yesterday but firemen had been on site since Tuesday to handle the situation. theSun learned the site flared up at about 2pm after the first bout of fire and another happened at 1am.
The fire attracted a crowd at the site which is a popular spot for local food and souvenirs.