New Fire Safety Campaign Soon
By Alina Simon
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, 26 April 2001 -- The Housing and Local Government Ministry will revamp its fire safety campaign in the wake of a spate of fires that claimed young lives.
Minister Datuk Ong Ka Ting said a new national campaign was being drawn up to instill public awareness of fire safety and it would be launched soon. It will be advertised on television and newspapers.
He said the decision to revamp the campaign was made following his meeting with senior Fire and Rescue Department officials in Johor recently. “We feel the message is not getting through to the people. We want to create awareness of the importance of having fire extinguishers and smoke detectors at home and at the workplace. Install detachable iron grilles instead of permanent ones,” he said.
“Most of us know that we should have such equipment but we delay buying them. In case of a fire at home, loved ones could have used the fire extinguisher or be alerted by a smoke detector and could have escaped early. They could have been saved.”
“Our campaign will carry the message that if we spend a bit more or fire safety measures, we can save lives of our loved ones.”
He said the campaign would also address the problem of vandalism especially at low-cost housing schemes.
Last year, 12,794 fires were reported nationwide with 53 lives lost and 32 injured. Damage was estimated at RM412 million. Two firemen were killed.
Earlier, Ong opened a seminar on effective fire safety and control organized by the Malaysian Association for Shopping and Highrise Complex Management at Crown Princess Hotel.
Source: New Straits Times
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