PUTRAJAYA: About 140 out of 650 government buildings nationwide have yet to be issued fire certificates, and 39 of those buildings are located in the country's administrative capital, Putrajaya.
Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Hamdan Wahid (pic) said all building managers have been given nine months to get their fire certificates.
He also said he has set a target for all government buildings in Putrajaya to have their fire certificates by next year.
Among the conditions for a fire certificate is to ensure that fire prevention tools are in good condition.
“Fire prevention systems such as sprinkler systems take time and cost to maintain, and we understand that building owners may be facing cost-cutting measures which make it hard for them to fulfil this condition.
“In the meantime, building managers can turn their attention to other areas of fire safety to minimise the risk as they work towards fixing this,” he said.
Other steps include removing obstacles that could block paths to fire exits and also conducting audits on fire prevention measures.
Hamdan added that while many of the government buildings in Putrajaya are considered new, they still needed to ensure proper fire prevention measures were in place.
He said this after presenting medals of honour to about 124 people including firefighters, Air Force personnel, department administrative staff and the media.
Leading the list of recipients was National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, who received the Pingat Ketua Pengarah Bomba which is given to those who have devoted their time to the importance of fire safety.
Designated buildings of a certain height are required to have a fire certificate from the Department.
Such buildings include libraries, hospitals, hotels, hostels, offices, shops, factories, assembly areas, and storage spaces.
Separately, the fire and rescue team managed to save over RM7bil worth of assets from fires between January and March this year while RM292mil worth was lost to the flames.
In comparison, firefighters saved over RM5bil in assets in the same period last year.
The Department also reported 17 fire-related deaths in the first three months of 2019.
It received over 6,000 fire and non-fire related calls within the period and attributed the cause of most burnings to forest fires.
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