The shocking cause of most structural fires

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 7,447 structural fire cases were recorded last year, 60% of which were from electrical sources, says the Fire and Rescue Department.

Its Fire Safety Division Senior Fire Superintendent I, Dr Mohd Zaid Abd Ghani, said the number was the highest since 2018, involving 804 shops, 408 factories, 263 storage facilities, 200 offices and other structural buildings and residential premises.

He said the most frequent reported cause of fire was electrical sources (4,558 incidents), followed by gas equipment (1,328 incidents), lighters (525) and others (519).

“Based on forensics data, the predominant causes were electrical short circuits, electrical overloading, and resistance heating.

“Most fire incidents occurred in residential buildings but we still got cases involving commercial buildings,” he said at the media forum ‘Ignore the Peril, Face the Mayhem’, here yesterday.