Vital for homes to have smoke detector and extinguishers

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians dying from fire at home should not be happening and to prevent that, smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher should be installed in houses.

The Fire Prevention Council Ma­­lay­­sia said families must also plan ahead in the event a fire was to break out at their homes.

Its chairman and former fire and rescue department director-general Datuk Soh Chai Hock said deaths from fire at home have been reoccurring.

“Safety awareness among Malay­sians is still low, especially among residential owners,” he said.

Soh pointed out that the Uniform Building By-Laws (UBBL) 1984 did not cover fire requirements for homes except for minimal coverage under the Selangor state’s amended UBBL 1986 which requires smoke detectors and fire extinguisher to be installed in homes.

Soh said that it was important to install detectors and a fire extinguisher in a home.

He said that people were put into deeper sleep if they inhaled smoke and a detector, would awaken them with a sharp sound.

“The Fire and Rescue Department alone cannot do everything and prevention is the cheapest and most effective way,” he said.

“We must be fire conscious. Fa­­milies must plan escape paths in the event of fire. The elderly and the young must be briefed on this too.”