High-rise communities urged to be proactive, form emergency response teams
IN HIS 18 years of firefighting, one miracle stood out for Razali Mohd Nasir: a man walking out of a raging apartment inferno completely unscathed.
The Selangor Fire and Rescue Department fire safety division assistant director said he never tired of telling this story.
“Awoken by the smell of smoke, the man opened his room door only to discover his whole hall was on fire.
“Unable to escape, he retreated into the bedroom, shut the door, opened the windows and shouted for help,” said Razali.
“Alerted by his cries, security guards rushed to his floor, broke open the door, aimed a water hose into his living room and put the fire out. That was how he was saved,” said the officer.
Recounting this tale at a town hall session at the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department headquarters in Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam, Razali said the key lesson from this story was the importance of having a ready team in times of emergencies.
At present, there is no law mandating that residential high-rises must have an emergency response team (ERT).
Under the Fire Services Act 1988, ERTs are only required in specific types of buildings and places referred to as “designated premises”.
These include commercial buildings that are over four-storeys high or with a floor area larger than 0.2ha.
Examples are factories, shopping complexes, offices, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, libraries, venues of mass assemblies like auditoriums and underground parking lots.
However, things are expected to change after the recent spate of high-rise fires making headlines.
Recent tragedies serve as grim reminders of the danger.
These include a fatal condominium fire in Mont Kiara, the heartbreaking death of a four-year-old child at Kuala Lumpur’s Kampung Muhibbah People’s Housing project and the Wang Fuk Court inferno in Hong Kong.
Last December, MCA urban affairs bureau chairman Tan Gim Tuan called on Housing and Local Government Ministry as well as the Fire and Rescue Department to come up with laws for fire drills to be introduced at residential high-rises.
This March, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh also highlighted the need to strengthen fire safety awareness and emergency preparedness among management bodies and residents.
“Fire incidents in strata buildings have shown a concerning increase.
“In 2023, a total of 68 fire cases were reported in Kuala Lumpur strata properties.
“The number rose to 75 in 2024. Last year, there were 86 cases,” she had said.
On ground scenario
For now, the common scenario in many high-rise residences will see a first responder team in the form of their security personnel, residents association committee members or building maintenance personnel.
Bukit OUG Condominium Joint Management Body (JMB) chairman Chandran Raju, 51, said he had witnessed two fires – one at the clubhouse sauna, another in an apartment.
“In times of emergency, our residents’ reaction was mostly passive, while some come to the scene to record fires with their phones,” said Chandran.
“By right, attempts should be made to extinguish the flames with a fire extinguisher or water hose.
“I strongly feel that more awareness is required when it comes to basic firefighting.”
He said that although the condominium’s security guards and maintenance team were familiar with the building layout and had attended first aid, fire prevention and safety training, extra help from residents would go a long way in enhancing emergency preparedness.
Lai Jo Ann, 46, and Richard Gasciogne, 84, who are Bukit OUG Residents Association chairman and co-chairman respectively, said efforts were being made to muster the required headcount to attend a basic firefighting course the soonest possible at the Bukit Jalil fire station.
“The firefighting course is an important agenda in the upcoming JMB meeting,” said Lai.
Gasciogne, a retired IT entrepreneur from the United Kingdom, said residents could play a role by taking on fire marshal duties for their respective blocks.
These marshals would best know if there were residents with disabilities needing extra help should evacuations be required, he added.
Need for proactiveness
The Fire and Rescue Department is advocating for high-rise residents to take on a more proactive role instead of just relying on security guards and maintenance personnel.
According to their data, Kuala Lumpur is among cities with the highest concentration of skyscrapers in the world.
In total, the city has between 179 and 210 buildings exceeding 150m in height.
Over in Selangor, 64.6% of high-rises are residences and most are in the Petaling district.
As to how well high-rise residences are complying with fire safety measures, it was revealed that 42% inspected in Selangor had at least one serious fire hazard.
Defective firefighting equipment or safety installations are most common. They accounted for 5,991 cases in 2025.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Datuk Wan Md Razali Wan Ismail said the situation showed that although fire safety systems had been installed in buildings, they were often not well maintained.
“The reasons are mostly due to financial constraints and weak supervision,” he said.
“Other common violations are the illegal removal of firefighting equipment, obstructed emergency routes and illegal renovations carried out by residents.
“A well-run JMB will ensure that maintenance records are always updated, escape routes such as stairs and fire doors are free from obstructions, and emergency lights are always in working order.”
He said awareness and education were other crucial factor that should not be overlooked.
“Fire drills and building evacuation simulations need to be held periodically, so that residents do not panic and are able to escape quickly in the event of an actual emergency,” said Wan Md Razali.
Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department director Hassan As’ari Omar, 56, said high-rise residences have a higher risk of fires due to higher occupancy rates and prevalence of activities involving open flames like cooking, for example.
“Unlike landed residential property, high-rise residences have limited number of evacuation routes,” he said.
High-rise ERTs could be trained to respond within the first five to 10 minutes – a critical window that could determine whether a property could be saved or completely razed, said Hassan.
The teams can also assist in evacuation, control panic and help the Fire and Rescue Department with early information on the fire.
“The ERT’s role is not only to react during emergencies.
“They can assist the Fire and Rescue Department to come up with a pre-incident plan (PIP) – a strategy that is implemented to minimise or prevent altogether possible incidents before they can happen.
“A PIP study, for example, will include looking at the fastest possible routes leading to residential high-rises
“It will take into consideration how many of the occupants have disabilities, including those who are deaf, wheelchair-dependent or bedridden,” said Hassan.
The department provides free sessions of training for ERT members at residential high-rises.
These simple modules teach residents in theory how to use fire extinguishers and hose reels as well as ways to put out kitchen gas fires.
For example, one of the modules is Suri (sedia urus risiko isi rumah) which focuses on interior fires.
“The important thing is for residents to send in their request to the nearest Fire and Rescue station, and we will send our personnel to the high-rise location as soon as possible,” said Hassan.
Annually, the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department carries out studies and workshops with the various stations to identify the main causes of fires.
In addition to conducting basic training programmes, Hassan said the department carried out periodic Fire Hazard Elimination Programme (MBK) inspections.
Its key performance index this year is to inspect 2,300 premises, and 1,000 of them are residential high-rises like apartments and condominiums.
“If we discover fire hazards such as blocked staircases or faulty risers during our inspection, a notice will be issued for the building management to rectify the situation,” said Hassan.
He said the duration period would depend on the level of complexity of the rectification.
“For example if the matter is as simple as a faulty fire extinguisher, then we will give them seven days to replace.
“Once the duration of the notice has expired, our enforcement team will visit the premises for another inspection.
“If the high-rise premises does not comply with the notice within the stipulated period, then the inspection unit will submit a complaint to the prosecution department who will initiate court action,” he elaborated.
In 2025, 89 MBK inspections were carried out by Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department.
Forty of these were issued notices and eight cases were taken to court.
