KUCHING, Feb 3 — The Buildings Ordinance 1994 Amendment Bill mandating the installation of fire alarms in new houses will be tabled in the next Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting, said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian.

The Public Health, Housing and Local Government Minister said the Bill is expected to be tabled in the DUN sitting in the middle of this year, and the new requirement would be introduced progressively starting with newly constructed houses.

“During last November’s DUN sitting, we were supposed to introduce the Buildings Ordinance Amendment Bill after obtaining feedback from Bomba to update our laws in ensuring every house has a fire alarm,” he said during a fire prevention awareness programme at the Batu Kawa Chung Hua Association community hall here today.

Dr Sim said the State Attorney General’s Chambers had just informed that the amendment Bill is now ready to be tabled and expert opinions were also gathered from engineers and architects.

Similar to the practice in Australia, he explained the availability of fire alarms in homes would allow Bomba to be alerted of any fire outbreaks and contain the fire within the shortest period of time possible.

On another note, Dr Sim thanked his federal counterpart, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Khor Ming, for approving the building of new Bomba stations in Batu Kawa and Kota Sentosa as both areas have been undergoing rapid development in the past years.

The new Bomba station in Batu Kawa would be located near Moyan, he added.

Bomba Sarawak director Datuk Khirudin Drahman, meanwhile, said it was high time for relevant laws in the state to be updated to mitigate fire risks and the new fire stations are expected to be built within these two years.

Khirudin said currently in Sarawak, there are 39 fire stations but an assessment conducted by Bomba Sarawak has indicated the state would need a total of 66 stations to provide satisfactory response to any fire incidents.

With that said, Dr Sim applauded the leadership of Khirudin in leading Bomba Sarawak to actively organise fire prevention awareness and community engagement programmes throughout the year, particularly during festive periods, and this had resulted in a decline in losses recorded due to fire incidences in the state. — Borneo Post