JOHOR BARU: Fire safety at Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) is expected to improve following the completion of an upgrading project, says Johor executive councillor Ling Tian Soon.
The state health and environment committee chairman said the project, which includes rewiring and upgrading the electrical supply in the hospital, is among ongoing fire prevention efforts.
“Fire prevention is something that we take seriously, especially since the hospital was involved in two fires previously, including one that had caused the deaths of patients.
“As such, one of the things we have decided to focus on for the upgrades is on wiring and the electrical supply, as these are among things that could cause a fire,” he said when contacted.
Ling added that the project has been progressing smoothly and is expected to be completed in 2026.
In October 2016, a fire broke out at the intensive care unit (ICU) of HSA, causing the death of six patients undergoing treatment.
Less than four years later, in June 2020, the hospital was again hit. No casualties were reported in the second fire, which took place at the hospital’s female ward.
In 2022, Ling reportedly said the Federal Government had allocated RM140mil to upgrade HSA, which includes upgrading the electrical supply and fire prevention system.
Meanwhile, Johor Fire Prevention Society founder Reuban Teoh said despite the fire tragedies at HSA, there is still a lack of awareness among the public and authorities on fire safety involving hospitals.
“The issue will only receive public attention when something bad has happened and would last for a short period before the issue dies down again,” he said, adding that there is an urgent need to raise awareness, including among hospital staff.
On the upgrades at HSA, Teoh said the efforts could help to prevent fires, but it should not be something that only comes after a tragedy.
“The most common reasons contributing to fire at hospitals are old or poorly maintained wiring and overloaded circuits, especially since hospitals run on numerous high-energy devices,” he said.
He added that hospitals should also conduct at least one fire drill every year to ensure their staff know what to do in the event of a fire.
“The process of evacuating people from a hospital is more challenging compared to any other situation as we are dealing with people who are sick and may need help to move around.
“So, it is very important for the staffers to know what to do and where to go in such situations.”
