BY R.S.N MURALI

Kamarulzaman says the task force will comprise local authorities officials, the police as well as the education and fire and rescue departments.

MELAKA: A task force has been formed in Melaka to look out for hostels and dormitories deemed as fire traps here, in the wake of the deadly blaze at a tahfiz school in Jalan Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur.

State Fire and Rescue Department director Kamarulzaman Malik Abdullah said the task force will comprise officials from four local authorities in the state, the police, state Education Department and his team.

He said the task force will depend on public tip-offs from the public as well as surveillance on potential fire hazards at premises that house students and foreign workers, such as not having mandatory fire exits.

“For a start, the task force will work closely with Melaka Religious Department (JAIM) to enhance safety at 53 registered tahfiz schools in the state before expanding the scope to hostels and dormitories meant for students and workers,” he said in a statement.

The move, he noted, was to ensure these dwellers would not be trapped in case of fire as well as to prevent a repeat of the tragedy in Kuala Lumpur that claimed 23 lives.

Kamarulzaman said the task force hoped to get feedback and information from those who are aware of any premises that lacked fire safety measures.

He added that tahfiz schools with hostel facilities in the state should also obtain approval from his department as stipulated under the Fire Services Act 1988 (Act 341) and Uniform Building By-Laws 1984 (Amendment 2012) apart from the licensing from JAIM.

Earlier, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron said fire audits must be commissioned at religious schools with hostel facilities by the relevant authorities.

He suggested that action be taken against the school management if they were found to have breached fire safety standards.

Idris said there should also be adequate fire extinguishers available at hostels as well as a fire alarm, especially when the dwellers are young children.

He added that enforcement units from local authorities, including the Fire and Rescue Department, should take punitive actions against hostel management if they failed to ensure the safety of dwellers.