Do not ignore fire safety, take action

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 14): "Fire burns everybody — it doesn't matter if you are rich or poor. That is a burning fact. But most people today continue to have low awareness and take no action regarding fire safety," said Architect Centre Sdn Bhd accredited architect and trainer Anthony Lee Tee.

"Even if people are aware of the importance of fire safety, they remain 'blur blur' and take no action. How long are we going to do this?" Lee asked the audience at the EdgeProp.my Symposium 2017 "Is your home a fire hazard?" today.

Lee is one of the speakers at the half-day symposium. His talk was entitled "Burning facts you cannot ignore!"

The event was organised by EdgeProp.my. Gamuda Land was the presenting sponsor while the supporting sponsor was Nippon Paint Malaysia. It was also supported by The Edge Malaysia.

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

* Be mindful of fire safety when renovating your home

* Property owners lack fire safety awareness

* Malaysia’s fire safety laws up to date

* Electrical safety is not as difficult as you think

* JMBs and MCs should consider building safety audit

"I'm happy to see quite a large crowd here today, but I think whenever we speak about fire safety, we don't quite get the same kind of attraction as those 'make money' property investment talks, which discuss where do we invest next.

"Buying a property is probably the most expensive thing that you will ever spend on in your life, and yet you don't protect it. It is like driving your car with bald tires or without seat belts. Yeah, it still runs, but what happens when you get into an accident?" Lee continued.

Hence, he urged everyone to take action with three simple steps: identify the unsafe aspects and areas that are in dire need of improvement in buildings; start to address the most urgent and important issues; and then continue to maintain the building.

"We need to take action. There are different people here today — property managers, developers, investors, contractors and people who are interested in fire safety. All of us will have an action plan depending on our expertise and the direction that we plan to go forward," he said.

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