Fire safety unit in all high-risk buildings soon
Every (high-risk and designated) premises must have this (OKK) and we are currently making the regulations. Most probably, it will be enforced by early next year.
BINTULU: Every high-risk and specifically- designated building will be required to form its own team of fire safety organisation (OKK), consisting of at least a fire safety manager and a fire safety officer.
This requirement would take effect next year, says Fire and Rescue Department ( Bomba) director (fire safety) Edwin Galan Teruki.
It is learn that the amendments to Section 27A of Fire Services Act 2018 were passed in Parliament earlier this year, with the objective of improving fire safety standards in premises.
“Every (high-risk and designated) premises must have this (OKK) and we are currently making the regulations. Most probably, it will be enforced by early next year,” he told reporters after a visit to Bintulu Fire and Rescue station on Monday, where he was accompanying
Edwin Galan Teruki, Bomba director
Bomba director- general Datuk Mohammad Hamdan Wahid.
Edwin said with a safety manager in the OKK, such building would be properly managed, with wellmaintained fire system and in any case of emergency, the OKK could respond to it promptly.
In addition to the amendments to the Act, he said another improvement would be the need for a building to have the Fire and Emergency Response (FER) team before it could be issued with a fire certificate.
The management must also submit a fire report to Bomba every year, upon the renewal of the fire certificate, he added.
“We call upon (managers of) the premises to be prepared – there is no exception; this covers all highrisk premises like a hospital, a hotel with more than 50 rooms, and big factories with hazardous materials and petro-chemicals,” he said, reiterating the seriousness of Bomba in enforcing the provisions that come along with the issuance of the fire certificate – failure to comply with then could cause building managers a fine of RM50,000, which is a substantial increase from the previous fine of RM5,000.
“We want the high-risk premises to be well taken care of to avoid fires. The (management of) premises that are found without the OKKs (upon the implementation of the requirement), could be slapped with a RM50,000 fine,” he said.
Present at the event were Bomba Sarawak director Khirudin Drahman, Bomba Sarawak deputy director (fire safety) Mohamad Fauzi Mohamat Kifli, Bomba assistant director (operations) Tiong Ling Hii, Bomba Bintulu chief Unjar Lum and the Bintulu station chief Mohamad Meramit.