JOHOR BARU, Aug 3 — The Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) here, which has been involved in several fire incidents, has been identified as one of three government hospitals in the state that still does not have a Fire Certificate (FC).
Johor Fire and Rescue Department director Datuk Yahaya Madis said the FC application for the three hospitals, including HSA is still under process and is expected to be completed by next year.
“At present, the hospitals are allowed to operate under the observation by the Fire and Rescue department.
“We must understand that the FC application is costly and a time-consuming process as there are many factors to consider such as fire prevention systems, Emergency Response Team (ERT) preparedness and good building maintenance,” said Yahaya during a press conference in conjunction with the Johor Fire and Rescue Department’s Qurban peogramme at Jalan Kangkar Tebrau here today.
Yahaya explained that the department cannot stop the operation of the hospitals involved and operating under the department’s fire observation also allows them to comply with fire safety measures.
He added that not all buildings in the hospital require to have the FC.
“Those that do not require the FC includes single-story buildings, while those that do need it involves multi-storey buildings,” said Yahaya.
Meanwhile, seven other government hospitals in Johor are among the 26 government buildings that already have the FC.
Yahaya added that the number of premises set to own FC throughout the state involving government and private buildings amounts to 2,530 where 2,013 have obtained the certificate.
“So far, 55 government buildings and 462 private buildings either do not yet have the FC or their applications are in the process.
“Being a fire officer, I am not satisfied, because we need to make sure all buildings are safe. There are no exceptions in this matter,” said Yahaya, adding that the state department will implement enforcement to ensure that building owners get the FC or legal action such as compound or building evacuation orders can be taken against them.
On June 28, a fire broke out at the women’s ward of the HSA. However, there were no fatalities as all 24 patients in the ward were rescued.
Four years prior in October, a fatal blaze at its Intensive Care Unit broke out which left six dead.
According to media reports, there have been six fire incidents at the same hospital, which has yet to obtain a FC from the Fire and Rescue Department.
