Property owners lack fire safety awareness

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 14): There are about 1.2 million strata property owners in Kuala Lumpur alone, but most of them lack fire safety awareness, according to Henry Butcher Malaysia (Mont Kiara) Sdn Bhd executive director Low Hon Keong. 

“The [level of] awareness of fire safety [among strata property owners] is still very concerning. When we take over properties from developers for property management, among the frequently asked questions from owners are whether there are any defects in the unit, whether the appliances supplied by the developer are good and even whether they have unblocked balcony views. None of these questions and concerns are related to fire safety,” he said.

In fact, some property owners even think of locking the fire safety access in their building, citing security reasons. “So, from there we can tell their awareness level,” said Low during his session entitled “Fire safety in communal living” at the EdgeProp.my Symposium 2017 “Is Your Home a Fire Hazard?” held in Hilton Kuala Lumpur this morning. 

* EdgeProp.my’s fire safety symposium draws over 350 attendees

* Be mindful of fire safety when renovating your home

* Malaysia’s fire safety laws up to date

* Electrical safety is not as difficult as you think

* Do not ignore fire safety, take action

* JMBs and MCs should consider building safety audit

The symposium was organised by EdgeProp.my with Gamuda Land as the presenting sponsor and Nippon Paint Malaysia as the supporting sponsor. The half-day event was also supported by The Edge Malaysia. 

According to Low who oversees the management of over 80 properties by Henry Butcher, the most common complaints lodged by homeowners are water leakage, cleanliness, security and problems with common facilities. 

“Do you hear any complaints for fire safety? They [the homeowners] will not ask us what is the fire escape plan, or are the sprinklers functioning... It is not ingrained in their minds to ask us these questions,” he added.

Low noted that property managers and homeowners need to give greater priority to fire safety. 

For instance, each home should at least have a fire extinguisher in case of any emergency, but how many homes have one?

“Everyone has a role to play in order to make sure the building is safe to be occupied,” he said, adding that property managers will need to ensure the fire safety of common facilities while the owners have to take care of the safety in their own units.

For the full coverage on the symposium, read the Oct 20, 2017 issue of EdgeProp.my pullout, which will be available for free download.