Fire Services Department inspects 1,000 old commercial/residential buildings

16/12/2024 19:32

Following the No. 3 alarm fire at Wah Fung Building in Jordan in April this year, the Fire Services Department (FSD) conducted 8,200 proactive inspections to 1,000 old commercial and residential buildings, and issued over 8,500 Fire Hazard Abatement Notices (FHANs) to more than 600 of them They were mainly related to wedged-open or damaged smoke doors and blocked escape routes, with a compliance rate of over 90%.



The Fire Services Department (FSD) said it had instituted prosecutions in 350 cases of non-compliance, with 18 convicted owners or OCs being fined nearly $150,000, including a fine of over $30,000 for a commercial/residential building in which a number of smoke doors had been wedged open.



The Department pointed out that the potential risk of wedging open the smoke doors is extremely high. In case of fire, toxic and hot smoke will penetrate into the escape staircase, which will easily cause serious casualties, and called on the public not to take advantage of the convenience of the moment.