PUTRA HEIGHTS FIRE: HOUSES WITH 20 PCT DAMAGE SAFE FOR OCCUPANCY - FIRE CHIEF

KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 (Bernama) -- Houses that suffered less than 20 per cent (pct) in damage in the gas pipeline fire in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, are deemed safe enough for occupancy by residents.

Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said based on inspections conducted, most houses classified as safe for occupancy only experienced minor damage such as broken windows (shattered glass, panes) and minor heat damage to the roof and ceiling.

He stated that most of the homes that were allowed to be reoccupied were located more than 150 metres from the explosion 'epi-centre'.

"With the approval of the State Disaster Management Committee, we allow occupants to re-enter homes with minor or no damage.

"However, houses with major damage are not suitable for entry unless further assessment of the structural integrity and repairs are carried out," the Fire Chief said when contacted by Bernama.

The safety assessment was carried out together with the Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) , Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and an electrical wiring contractor.

He said the visual inspection of the fire-damaged house units involved the surface of the building structure, walls, floors, roofs and building frames apart from the electrical wiring.

Further commenting as a supporting agency, Nor Hisham said that so far there was no need to obtain a new Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) for the category of houses in question and that the certificate was required (from the local authority or PBT) only if there are major changes made to the house structure such as new extensions.

Earlier, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said 85 houses in Jalan Putra Harmoni were confirmed safe and residents were allowed to return to their homes in stages starting from last night, while water and electricity supplies had been restored to the liveable houses.

The Petronas gas pipeline fire at 8.10 am on Tuesday (April 1) saw a fireball rising to a column of over 30 metres high with searing temperatures reaching 1,000 degrees Celsius which took nearly eight hours to be completely extinguished (at 3.45 pm).

In the big picture, the catastrophic fire uprooted 1,254 people from 308 families with 87 houses written off as 'a total loss' and uninhabitable while 148 houses were damaged but habitable after an inspection process.

The huge blaze left behind a 9.8-metre deep crater measuring 21x24 metres wide at 'ground zero' where the gas pipeline ignited into a fireball.

-- BERNAMA