Almost 50% of buildings in Selangor without fire certificate

A total of 789 premises or 47% of buildings in Selangor which require certification by the Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) have been found to be operating without a fire certificate (FC), according to Selangor JBPM director Norazam Khamis.

He said the premises without FCs included 394 factories, 129 office buildings, 117 warehouses and 67 shops such as supermarkets, grocery stores and shopping centres.

A total of 37 hotels, 22 hostels, 17 hospitals and treatment centres, five places of gatherings such as multipurpose halls and clubhouses, and one library were also found to be without an FC, he told Bernama.

Norazam said the owners of premises should be aware of the law requiring them to obtain an FC according to the Fire Services Act 1988 (Act 341).

"Building owners need to have this certificate to confirm that the fire safety system in their premises is working properly and able to detect fires, issue warnings, and in some cases, extinguish fires automatically," he added.

Norazam said the reasons given by building owners for not possessing FCs included being unaware of the need for the certificate and having insufficient financial resources to maintain a fire safety system.

He advised owners of premises who still do not have an FC to obtain one to avoid being subjected to legal action.

Norazam said anyone found guilty of not possessing an FC can be fined not more than RM50,000, imprisoned for up to five years, or both.

"We are also giving a 30-day grace period to newly identified premises (that do not have FCs), to give owners time to prepare and submit the relevant documentation to JBPM," he added.