Case Study - MRCB building under construction on fire.

19 January 2012 - The fire at the Malaysian Resources Cororation Berhad !MRCB" high
rise building under construction near #$ Sentral yesterday %as caused by the negligent
burning of construction debris& said #uala $u'ur (ire and Rescue chief #hiruddin
)erah'an.
.
*e said their in+estigations re+ealed %or,ers at the site had been burning %ood re'nants
and other co'bustible 'aterial.
-.t too, us se+en hours to ensure the fire %as thoroughly ut out as the contractor failed
to ro+ide fire fighting facilities in the building&- he said after a 'eeting %ith MRCB& and
the building/s contractor and architect today.
0esterday& the 11-storey co''ercial building at #$ Sentral& Jalan Tun Sa'banthan&
%hich %ould be the future office of a ro'inent etroleu' co'any& caught fire about
1.20 a' causing 'assi+e traffic congestion in the +icinity.
#hiruddin said %ater had to be u'ed fro' the neighbouring condo'iniu' ool and
fro' the fire engine tan,.
*e added that although the building had a iing syste'& there %as no %ater suly& hose
or ies to connect it to the fire hose.
-3s a result& %e too, a long ti'e to ut out the fire& fro' early 'orning to 1 '
yesterday and further'ore strong %inds fanned the bla4e&- he said.
3s,ed if action %ould be ta,en against the negligent arties& he resonded it %ould be
done after the reort %as co'leted ne5t %ee, and the arties %ere only ad+ised to
co'ly %ith re6uire'ents for the ti'e being
The article abo+e is an e5a'le of natural disaster !fire ha4ard" that haens at MRCB
building %hen it is in construction.
7atural )isasters

3 natural disaster is the conse6uence of a natural ha4ard .!e.g. +olcanic erution&
earth6ua,e& and landslide" %hich 'o+es fro' otential in to an acti+e hase& and as a
result affects hu'an acti+ities.
*u'an +ulnerability& e5acerbated by the lac, of lanning or lac, of aroriate
e'ergency 'anage'ent& leads to financial& structural& and hu'an losses. The resulting
loss deends on the caacity of the oulation to suort or resist the disaster& their
resilience.This understanding is concentrated in the for'ulation8 9disasters occur %hen
ha4ards 'eet +ulnerability9.

3 natural ha4ard %ill hence ne+er result in a natural disaster in areas %ithout
+ulnerability& e.g. strong earth6ua,es in uninhabited areas. The ter' natural has
conse6uently been disuted because the e+ents si'ly are not ha4ards or disasters
%ithout hu'an in+ol+e'ent.

The degree of otential loss can also deend on the nature of the ha4ard itself& ranging
fro' a single lightning stri,e& %hich threatens a +ery s'all area& to i'act e+ents& %hich
ha+e the otential to end ci+ili4ation.
Natural hazards
7atural ha4ards are natural e+ents that threaten li+es& roerty& and other assets. :ften&
natural ha4ards can be redicted. They tend to occur reeatedly in the sa'e geograhical
locations because they are related to %eather atterns or hysical characteristics of an
area.
7atural ha4ards such as flood& fire& earth6ua,e& tornado& and %indstor's affect thousands
of eole e+ery year. ;e need to ,no% %hat our ris,s are fro' natural ha4ards and ta,e
sensible recautions to rotect oursel+es& our fa'ilies& and our co''unities.
*ere is the list of so'e natural ha4ard8-
(loods
Thunderstor's and $ightning
<arth6ua,es
Tsuna'is
(ires
(actors that affect the fire sread.
(irstly %ill be the building design and structural condition. Secondly is because of the
surface sread of fla'e o+er finish = furnished and sread of fla'e through
unrotected +ertical oenings. >eo'etric configuration and arrange'ent of
building contents. 7e5t %ill be the ther'al conducti+ity of building contents !fire
load". 3+ailability of air suly surrounding the building contents !o5ygen". $astly
%ill be the sufficient balance bet%een building contents and air flo% that sustain
co'bustion.
;hat causes the fire ha4ard in the construction site?
1. 7egligent use of acetylene touch
2. :en burning
1. Careless disosal of cigarette butt
@. Ansafe electrical installations
2. Boor storage of fla''able li6uids
C. $ea,s fro' fla''able gas
D. (la''able li6uid sill
;hat ,ind of rincile MRCB building should carry to a+oid fire in the future?
To 'anage'ent of fire safety 'ust establish a clear %ritten fire safety olicy.
The organi4ation and resource necessary to carry out the olicy obEecti+e 'ust
e5ist.
The organi4ation 'ust carry out fire ris, assess'ent to ensure the lanned fire
safety 'easures are achie+ed.
The organi4ation 'ust continuously 'onitor& re+ie%& and udate its fire safety
'easures to ensure that it is current and rele+ant.
Manage'ent and e'loyees 'ust cooerate %holeheartedly in securing the
%or,lace fro' fire.
The best a+ailable ,no%ledge and 'ethods 'ust be alied in all %or,lace
acti+ities& rocesses and syste's to a+oid or reduce fire.
(ire safety 'ust be an integral art of business 'anage'ent strategy.
To 'anage'ent 'ust ta,e lead in organi4ing fire safety at the %or, lace.
Construction site 'ust ha+e a fire safety lan.
The organi4ation and resonsibilities for fire safety 'ust be established.
The arrange'ent for fire safety training 'ust be gi+en to all site oerati+es.
The location of designated s'o,ing areas and no s'o,ing co'liance in
accordance %ith legislati+e la% 'ust be obser+ed.
The re6uire'ent for hot %or, er'its 'ust be carried out.
The location& construction and 'aintenance of te'orary buildings and te'orary
acco''odation should at safe distance.
3n effecti+e e+acuation lan and rocedures for su''oning fire deart'ent in
case of fire 'ust be osted.
(ire drill e5ercise lanned and tested& re+ie%ed and udated e+ery si5 'onth.
(ire deart'ents& access facilities and co-ordination 'ust be 'aintained.
.nstructions 'ust be gi+en to those on site of the re6uired action in case of fire.
Security 'easures and sur+eillance to control the ris, of arson 'ust be gi+en
riority.
Ta,e action to ro'ote safe %or,ing en+iron'ent.
)yna'ic ris, assess'ent carried out throughout the construction eriod. *igher
the ris, for fire the closer 'ust be the suer+ision.
)uties of erson resonsible for fire safety in construction site
<nsure site fire safety lan are understood and co'lied by e+eryone on the site.
Conduct %ee,ly insection of escae routes& fire safety signageFs and te'orary
e'ergency lightings.
Carry out %ee,ly insection on all firefighting e6ui'ent and facilities.
Conduct eriodic 'aintenance for fire rotection e6ui'ent and ,ee a %ritten
record of all chec,& insections and test.
Maintain %ritten records of training& fire atrols and fire drill rocedures.
3oint sufficient nu'ber of fire %ardens trained in e+acuation& first aid and
firefighting %here it is safe.
*o% to re+ent construction site fires?
Conduct routine fire ris, assess'ent by a co'etent erson and re+ie%ed eriodically.
Te'orary building should be searated fro' building under construction or other
er'anent building to ro+ide fire brea, at least 10 G 20 'eters. (la''able
li6uids& co'ressed gases and 'ust not be stored together and oerated %ith high
le+el safety and security alert.
3ll te'orary electrical installations and e6ui'ents 'ust be chec,ed& insected and
re+ie%ed by a 6ualified erson. Maintain >ood *ouse #eeing in all %or, areas
and fire chec, underta,en each %or,ing day& shift& holiday eriods and at
%ee,ends. 3lso a+oid coo,ing %ith oen fla'es& and instead use hot lates or
'icro%a+e o+ens. )o not lea+e any coo,ing unattended and lea+e tar boiler
unattended at all ti'es.
3lso 'ust clean and 'aintain oil fro' accu'ulating in the ,itchen hoods. <nsure all gas
cylinders and its installation are installed by 6ualified ersons according to current
standards and by la%s. .ssue hot %or, er'its for hot %or,s and ensure contractors
co'ly to these rules and regulations. )o not store co'bustible %here they 'ay
catch fire easily and do no ractice oen burning any%here around the construction
site.
(le5ible 'aterials used to clad scaffolding 'ust not contribute to fire load or the otential
for fire gro%th and sread. 3ll reair %or,s on construction facilities 'ust be
carried out by a co'etent or 6ualified erson. .nstall CCTH in areas %here
intruders 'ay ha+e access to the construction site.
;hat to do if fire stri,es?
1. 3nyone %ho disco+ers the fire 'ust raise the alar'.
2. 3cti+ate your e'ergency action lan %ithout delay.
1. Call the fire and rescue deart'ent ro'tly& e+en if the fire is e5tinguished.
@. Try and sto the fire at source and re+ent it fro' escalating if its safe to do so.
ThatFs the to 'ost riority.
2. <+acuate anyone %ho 'aybe in i''inent danger i''ediately& then
si'ultaneously e+acuates others fro' the to floors follo%ed by the floors belo%
s%iftly.
C. .solate the floorIareas and secure the lace fro' intruderFs entry to anyone e5cet
the e'ergency resonders.
D. Call the fire and rescue deart'ent and reort status and liaise %ith the' uon
their arri+al.
Conclusion
<ach year& 'any eole die and 'ore than hundreds of Malaysian are inEured in fires&
'any of %hich could be re+ented. To rotect yourself& it is i'ortant to understand the
basic characteristics of fire.