KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — The Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department salvaged assets worth RM149 million when fighting fires which affected buildings and properties last year.

Its director, Khiruddin Drahman said during the same period, a total of RM50.4 million in losses were recorded during the fires involving buildings and properties which could not be saved.

According to him, this was a drop when compared with the 2014 statistics which recorded RM60.9 million in losses, while total assets salvaged were worth RM59.5 million in the same year.

"Overall, there has been a decline in the number of fires around Kuala Lumpur,” he told Bernama here recently.

Khiruddin attributed the main causes of fire to electrical wiring failure, effect of friction, spontaneous reaction, explosion, malfunction of electrical equipment, highly heated surface material and chemical reaction.

He said among the special services assigned to the fire and rescue department last year were stranded cases in elevator; collecting corpses, road accidents, calls for search and rescue operations, as well as natural disasters. — Bernama