GEORGE TOWN, Aug 3 — The Lebuh Pantai Fire and Rescue Station here, one of Malaysia’s oldest fire stations still in operation, has reverted to its signboard structural design first used 111 years ago.

The fire station has rebranded as "Central Fire Station 1908” with large black fonts up front, replacing the previous red signboard and restoring its original infrastructure design.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the signage was changed in accordance with the George Town World Heritage Site Special Area Plan on the initiative of the Beach Street Fire and Rescue Department itself.

"This Lebuh Pantai Fire and Rescue Station Building is an iconic structure classified under Category I of the George Town Unesco World Heritage Site,” he told reporters after inspecting the new signage here today.

Penang Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Moktar, who was present, said the rebranding is to capitalise on its tourist appeal by highlighting its status as the first fire station in the state.

Apart from the signage, Saadon said, the shape of the building and some of its features would be maintained to comply with the conditions of the George Town World Heritage Site Special Area Plan.

One of the iconic features of the building’s structural design is its combination of different architectural styles, classical facade merging with its Mughal-style four-storey tower with hints of influences from the Edwardian era of architecture.

He said to save costs, the restoration and preservation works were done mostly on the exterior of the fire station. — Bernama