The Secretariat for Security (GSS) said in a statement yesterday that there are about 5,000 old residential buildings built over 30 years ago in Macau, most of which lack effective management and maintenance, posing potential fire safety hazards to old neighbourhoods.
The statement noted that a number of old residential buildings in Macau have no building owners’ committee, no residents’ organisation, and no property management company hired to carry out the day-to-day management of these buildings, making it difficult to carry out maintenance and repairs in a timely manner, which may easily lead to the dilapidation of and damage to the building structure and facilities.
The statement stressed that most of the city’s old low-rise buildings have ageing internal and external facilities, the construction design is not fully compliant with modern fire safety standards, and often have miscellaneous objects piled up in the staircases and corridors.
The statement pointed out that fire safety problems such as insufficient maintenance or complete failure of fire service equipment, poor ventilation, blockage of escape routes, propped open smoke doors, ambiguous instructions for escape, as well as ageing of wires, might occur.
Therefore, the statement said, the Fire Services Bureau has specially equipped emergency vehicles and equipment such as small ambulances, small pumps, fire engines with 18-metre ladders, fire-fighting motorcycles and motorcycle ambulances, according to the needs of the actual environment in Macau’s narrow streets and alleys.
Besides, in the first half of the year, firefighters conducted 7,271 fire safety inspections, involving 1,683 buildings, among which 642 inspections were made in 1,209 low-rise old residential buildings in the city’s old quartes, in which 10 were fined for placing miscellaneous items, shoe racks and motorcycles in evacuation routes, the statement pointed out.
In the future, the Fire Services Bureau will continue to carry out fire safety inspections and carry out publicity and promotional work in the community, so as to motivate residents to attach importance to buildings’ fire safety.
This undated file photo downloaded from the Secretariat for Security (GSS) website last night shows its headquarters in Calçada dos Quartéis.
