Tahfiz school did not have Certificate of Completion and Compliance

KUALA LUMPUR: The tahfiz school where it is now confirmed that 24 people died in a fire today does not have its Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC).
Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (KPKT) Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar said the building management was in the midst of applying for the certificate.
"I am saddened by the incident and would like to extend my condolences to the victims' family members.
"But, the lesson from the incident is that this building was built without having its CCC.
"The Fire and Rescue department said the building management did apply for a fire safety permit, but that's about it.
"There should be a follow-up with the department on the approval status," Noh told reporters when met at the scene.
He added this year alone, there were about 30 fire incidents involving tahfiz schools.
Meanwhile, Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim said the incident could have been avoided if the school had followed government regulations in applying for the proper follow-up permits.
"The first five minutes of any fire is important because the smoke of the fire itself can kill the occupants.
"Also, we realised the arrangements of the beds were so close or in other words, the room was packed or overloaded and the single entrance or exit is not part of the safety aspects," he said.
Wan Mohd added the operations of the tahfiz school should have only begun after all the permits were aqcuired.
"The permit application is not a lengthy process ... it could take up to only a month.
"If they would have called us for inspection, we would have advised the school to implement all the fire safety requirements before starting its operations," he said.