KUALA LUMPUR: The Fire and Rescue Department is monitoring buildings and premises that have been illegally converted into cramped rental units resembling "bird's nest" accommodations in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor.
The department's Fire Safety Division director Datuk Norazam Khamis said the department has been conducting inspections to identify the characteristics of such buildings and assess their fire safety risks.
"In Kuala Lumpur, we are still verifying the actual number of such premises with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
"We are also gathering more detailed information on the matter," he told reporters after an enforcement operation on Tuesday (June 30).
Norazam said the department was carrying out intelligence gathering and inspections to identify premises suspected of operating as illegal hostels or unapproved residential accommodation.
He said one of the indicators was a large number of people returning to the same building, particularly at night after working hours.
"We will conduct inspections to determine whether the premises are being used as accommodation," he said.
The issue came into focus following a fire at a three-storey shophouse along Jalan Tun H.S. Lee here on May 13.
In the incident, a foreign man was killed while 11 others escaped after the blaze broke out at the building, which was believed to have been used as living quarters.
Firefighters who arrived at 2.25am found that the fire had engulfed a 15ft by 70ft shophouse, destroying about 50% of the ground and first floors.
The firemen managed to rescue 11 foreign nationals – nine men and two women – but another male victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
