1. Home
  2. Insights
  3. Alerts
  4. November 2020

Fire Safety Requirements Enhanced

06 November 2020

The Government of Malaysia has recently enhanced certain fire safety requirements under the Fire Services (Fire Certificate) Regulations 2001 (‘Principal Regulations’). The enhancements were effected pursuant to the Fire Services (Fire Certificate) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (‘Amendment Regulations’) and took effect from 1 October 2020.
 
The main enhancements introduced under the Amendment Regulations are as follows:
 
  1. An application for a fire certificate for a designated premises1 is required to be accompanied by:
  1. a certificate of establishment of a fire safety organisation2 (‘FSO’) under regulation 6C of the Principal Regulations;
  1. a copy of a Fire and Emergency Response Plan; and
  1. a copy of a Fire Safety Report,
in respect of the designated premises.
 
The Fire and Emergency Response Plan and the Fire Safety Report are to be prepared by the FSO in respect of the designated premises in the form and manner as may be determined by the Director-General of Fire and Rescue (‘Director-General’).
 
  1. The requirements for an application for the renewal of a fire certificate have been amended as follows:
  1. a renewal application must now be submitted before the expiry date of the fire certificate,3 failing which the applicant is required to make a fresh application; and
  1. a copy of a Fire Safety Report must be submitted together with the renewal application.
  1. An owner, occupier or person having overall management of a designated premises (‘relevant person’) is required to submit an application to the Director-General to establish an FSO in respect of the designated premises. The FSO is to consist of one fire safety manager and at least three fire safety officers appointed by the relevant person. The fire safety manager and fire safety officers must be certified by the Director-General in a manner to be determined by him.
  1. The Director-General may approve an application for the establishment of a FSO with or without conditions and will issue a certificate of establishment of the FSO upon approval of the application.
  1. A relevant person to whom a certificate of establishment of the FSO is issued is required to:
  1. provide the FSO with fire-fighting equipment or fire safety installations;
  1. provide information relating to fire safety and emergency to the FSO;
  1. notify the Director-General in writing of any change in the appointment of the fire safety manager or fire safety officers within 14 days from the date of the occurrence of the change; and
  1. appoint a new fire safety manager or fire safety officer within 30 days from the date of resignation or termination of any fire safety manager or fire safety officer, as the case may be.
  1. The Amendment Regulations impose various duties on a FSO which include the following:
  1. to be responsible for fire safety of the designated premises in respect of which the FSO is established;
  1. upon an outbreak of fire or any other emergencies at the designated premises but before the arrival of a Fire Officer4;
  1. to give instructions for the purpose of evacuation or exit of the occupants of the designated premises; and
  1. to extinguish, fight, prevent and control the fire or emergency by using all fire-fighting equipment or fire safety installations, as the case may be, in the designated premises;
  1. to remove or caused to be removed any fire hazard found on the designated premises;
  1. to prepare a Fire and Emergency Response Plan and a Fire Safety Report;
  1. to ensure that a copy of a Fire and Emergency Response Plan and all documents relation thereto are kept at the fire command centre;
  1. to ensure that all fire-fighting equipment or fire safety installation and the fire command centre at the designated premises are maintained and remain in good condition;
  1. to attend any course or training as may be determined by the Director-General;
  1. to conduct any course or training relating to fire safety and emergency for occupants of the designated premises at least once a year; and
  1. to conduct a fire drill at the designated premises at least once a year.
Comment

While it is laudable that the Government has enhanced the Principal Regulations for the safety of occupants of designated premises, it would appear that some of the responsibilities imposed on the FSO are unduly and unfairly burdensome on the members of the FSO, some of whom are likelihood to be employees of the relevant person.  It is submitted that some these obligations, such as those set out in sub-paragraphs (a), (c), (d), (e), (f), (h) and (i) of paragraph 6 above, should be imposed on the relevant person who may then co-opt assistance of the members of the FSO.
 
1 Refer to the Fire Services (Designated Premises) Order 1998 [P.U.(A) 276/1998] (as amended by the Fire Services (Designated Premises) (Amendment) Order 2020 [P.U.(A) 289/2020]) for the criteria that have to be satisfied for a premises to be a ‘designated premises’. Designated premises would, among others, include hospitals, hotels, factories and office buildings, shops and places of worship that satisfy the criteria set out in the Fire Services (Designated Premises) Order 1998.  
2 The owner, occupier or person having overall management of a designated premises is required to establish an FSO under section 27A(1) of the Fire Services Act 1988.
3 A proviso to regulation 4(1) of the Principal Regulations which conferred a discretion on the Director-General to allow a renewal application after the expiry of a fire certificate upon the payment of a late penalty payment has been deleted under the Amendment Regulations.
4 A Fire Officer is a person employed in the Fire and Rescue Department.

  • Proud to be a member of
  • connect with us
  •  
  •