JOHOR BARU: The Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA), which has been involved in two fire incidents since 2016, is one of three government hospitals in Johor that are still in the process of obtaining a Fire Certificate (FC).
State Fire and Rescue Department (JPBM) director Datuk Yahaya Madis said seven other government hospitals in the state had been certified.
“These three hospitals are in the process of getting the FC, which for some is expected to be completed by next year at the latest.
“But at the same time, the hospitals are still being monitored by the department and we will make sure they comply with fire safety measures,“ he said in a press conference at the Johor JBPM Ibadah Qurban programme at the state JBPM headquarters here today.
Yahaya said the public should understand that the FC application process was costly and time-consuming as many things needed to be taken into consideration.
The certification, among other things, ensures that the premises concerned have a proper fire prevention system, an Emergency Response Team and proper infrastructure.
In addition, not all structures in the hospital area require an FC.
“Among buildings that need an FC is, for example, a building that is more than five storeys and has a permanent fire prevention system. A single-storey building does not need an FC because there are many exit points in the event of an emergency,” he said when commenting on the number of buildings in Johor that had an FC so far.
Yahaya said overall, there were 2,530 buildings in Johor that should have an FC, but only 2,013 had obtained one so far this year.
The number includes 26 of the 81 government buildings in the state, as well as 1,987 of 2,449 private buildings.
“As a fireman, I’m still not satisfied because we need to ensure that all buildings are safe, there should be no exceptions in this matter.
“So to ensure that building owners are compliant, we will carry out various enforcement processes including shutting down premises via court orders as well as issuing compounds,“ he said
