Substandard cables can cause fire in homes, says association
Fifth former shared excitement over new instrument on Facebook, a day before he died
PETALING JAYA: Houseowners have been advised to ensure that the electrical cables they use in their homes meet the required standards because substandard cables can cause fires.
The advice comes from the Electrical and Electronics Association of Malaysia (TEEAM), which cautions that a lot of poor quality material has flooded the market.
“The common conductors for electrical cable are mainly made of copper and aluminum but some of the substandard wires are made of other metal.
“If other materials are used instead of the two, the electrical conductivity is not good and this will lead to overheating and fire,” said association vice-president Stan Lim in an interview.
Lim said substandard cables were not designed, constructed, test-approved, installed or used in accordance with the prescribed standards and specification.
On Monday, four people died in a fire which razed a double-storey terrace house in Subang Jaya.
Lim said that people should use cables that are certified and profes- sionally recognised for the specific application and avoid using undersized and non-Sirim approved cables. Sirim is a national organisation that determines standards and quality of products.
He advised those doing house renovations to use contractors certified by the Energy Commission or a government authority.
A wiring or electrical extension plan that was not done properly could cause an overload and heating, and trigger a fire.
A spokesman from the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department was reported as saying that the department was alerted about the incident at Jalan USJ 2/3 at about 5.30am and 80% of the house was completely burnt by the time they arrived.
Lim also said houseowners should also test the residual circuit breaker every month.
“Open up the board, look for the button with the “T” and test it every month by pressing the button.
“If it causes the electricity to trip, then it is working. Then, push it back. If it is not working, it will need to be replaced,” he said.
Standards Users Association of Malaysia CEO Ratna Devi said that the cable industry had revealed that copper wires are now expensive and some of the imported ones used uncertified mixed materials, with compromised insulation properties or fake certification.
“These are fire hazards because they cannot conduct electricity well. Consumers often are not aware of this as they did not buy the cables for their homes. So, for renovations, they need to ensure that they use a licensed contractor for wiring,” she said.
Ratna said consumers should also make sure that any electrical appliance they buy is certified and should have the Energy Commission and Sirim’s sticker on it.
BUTTERWORTH: Form Five student Lim Yong Wei, who was killed in a house fire along with his parents and brother in Subang Jaya, had just bought a new guitar but sadly, he will never get the chance to enjoy it.
The 17-year-old had shared his excitement on getting the guitar by posting a video clip about it on his Facebook page on Sunday, a day before the fire took his life along with his elder brother Yong Liang, 20, father Lim Ah Kok, 58, and mother Goh Bee Khim, 51.
At the family’s wake in Mak Mandin yesterday, his cousin Alanox Tan, 37, said the guitar, which was destroyed in the fire, was recently purchased as the brothers were passionate about music.
“I would have really liked to see him play the instrument as I’m a guitar player too.
“We used to meet up every Chinese New Year at grandmother’s house in Jalan Raja Uda but I did not see them this year as I had to work,” he said, adding that the brothers were obedient and loving sons.
Their sister Yi Jun, 23, was not home during the fire as she was staying at her college hostel near Cheras.
At the wake, she looked sombre and only turned up for the prayer sessions. She declined to speak to reporters.
It is learnt that she was supposed to be at home but she returned to her hostel earlier on Sunday night to prepare for an upcoming exam.
Tan said Yi Jun was putting on a brave front but they were worried about her.
“She is suppose to graduate this year but we fear that the tragedy could affect her concentration and cause her to delay it,” he said.
On Monday, the four in the family were killed after choking on smoke when they were trapped in their double-storey terrace house.
The body of Ah Kok was found with Yong Liang and Yong Wei in the second room on the upper floor while Bee Khim was found in the bathroom of the master bedroom.
Screams for help could be heard but firemen who arrived minutes later at 5.34am had difficulty entering the house as the fire was too fierce when they arrived and gate was locked.
Post-mortem showed that the couple and their sons died from smoke inhalation, adding that their bodies were not burnt by the fire.
We used to meet up every Chinese New Year at grandmother’s house but I did not see them this year as I had to work. Alanox Tan
PETALING JAYA: It has been more than 10 years since the beeping of a smoke detector woke Sarah Syahirah Abdul Hamid from bed, saving her life and her three siblings as a fire raged downstairs.
“It happened a long time ago. I was jolted awake by the beeping. I opened my room door and found the second floor ceiling full of smoke!” Sarah Syahirah said when interviewed.
She quickly alerted her two elder brothers of the fire.
“We couldn’t see the flames but there was smoke everywhere,” she recalled.
Sarah Syahirah, her brothers and little sister made their way down to the ground floor, grabbed the house keys and fled their home in Section 25, Shah Alam.
“Both my brothers went back in and put out the fire with the fire extinguisher that was in the house,” she said, adding that they ended up not needing to call the Fire and Rescue Department.
While she couldn’t quite remember exactly when the house fire took place, she said it happened when she was still in secondary school – about 13 years ago.
Now 27 and working as a sales support, Sarah Syahirah explained that the fire started when her mother, after preparing breakfast for her children, left for work but forgot to turn off the stove.
Her father had also gone off to work by then, leaving Sarah Syahirah and her siblings at home alone. “It was the school holidays then.”
The whole kitchen, Sarah Syahirah said, was on fire. “Luckily, my late dad taught us what to do when there is fire,” she said.
One of these lessons, she said, was to find the closest exit immediately.
“Stay close to the ground to avoid inhaling too much smoke. Use a wet cloth or napkin to the face to reduce smoke inhalation.”
If trapped in a room, she said, stuff all openings around the door with wet clothes, and wet the door and walls, if possible.
“He even taught us how to use the fire extinguisher. Aim for the base of the flame, not the fire itself,” she said.
On Monday, Lim Ah Kok, 58, his wife Goh Bee Khim, and their two sons, Yong Liang, 20, and Yong Wei, 17, were not as lucky as Sarah Syahirah and her siblings.
The Lims died from smoke inhalation when their house in USJ 2/3, Subang Jaya, caught fire.