FOR more than two years, I have consistently spoken and written about fire safety as a shared responsibility. At the heart of this discussion lies a simple but often overlooked principle: safety must always take precedence over profit.
As members of a community, we must ask ourselves a fundamental question: are we truly prepared for any eventuality? Are we ready to face threats that could endanger lives, destroy property, harm the environment and disrupt business continuity? The underlying message is clear: preparedness is about readiness, resilience and the courage to rise above fear in the face of emergencies.
Fire safety is not merely the responsibility of authorities, designers or firefighters. It is a collective duty that involves owners, occupants, employers, employees and the wider community.
This is where the concept of ‘Total Fire Cover’ becomes critical. It is a continuous strategic and tactical plan aimed at protecting life, property and the environment from fire risks throughout a building’s entire lifecycle. This approach adopts the principles of the 5Es, 3Ps, 5DNs and the 3Ls, forming a holistic framework that integrates education, engineering, enforcement, emergency response and evaluation.
However, despite advancements in technology, building design and regulatory standards, the root causes of fires remain largely unchanged. Human unsafe acts, unsafe behaviour and unsafe conditions – commonly referred to as the Unsafe ABCs – continue to be the primary contributors to fire incidents.
Over the past 20 years, our understanding of fire behaviour has evolved significantly. Traditionally, fire was explained by three elements – fuel, heat and oxygen – commonly known as the ‘Fire Triangle’. Today, we recognise a fourth critical component: the chemical chain reaction. This understanding gives rise to what is now known as the Fire Tetrahedron, particularly relevant in flaming combustion. This evolution in knowledge has transformed firefighting tactics, building design and fire safety engineering.
Fire develops through four distinct stages: incipient, growth, fully developed and decay. A fire will continue to burn as long as it has sufficient fuel, heat and oxygen. It spreads through conduction, convection and radiation, with rapid transitional events often bridging the growth phase to a fully developed fire. Once this transition occurs, conditions can become unsurvivable within seconds.
What is particularly alarming is how quickly modern fires develop. Two decades ago, fires typically took 15 to 20 minutes to reach full growth. Today, due to the chemical composition of modern furnishings, plastics and synthetic materials, fires can become fully developed in just three to four minutes. This dramatically reduces available escape time and places occupants at far greater risk, especially during sleeping hours.
The goods we bring into our homes and workplaces are increasingly combustible. Fuel, defined as any material that can ignite and sustain fire, is everywhere. Oxygen acts as the oxidising agent, while heat — once a material exceeds its flash point – triggers ignition. The lower the flash point, the easier it is for a material to catch fire, making many everyday products far more dangerous than we realise.
Studies consistently show that early intervention within the first five minutes is crucial. When firefighters arrive, their strategy frequently focuses on fuel control and ventilation control. Any delay may result in a fully developed fire that is far more difficult, resource-intensive and dangerous to fight.
Firefighters also manage ventilation carefully to prevent dangerous phenomena such as smoke explosions, rollover, flash fire and backdraft. Smoke or fire gas explosions occur when unburnt flammable gases mix with air and ignite violently. These conditions pose extreme risks to both occupants and emergency responders.
Rapid Fire Development (RFD) can occur across a wide temperature range and may result in severe overpressure, structural damage and sudden flame spread. Such events underscore the importance of proper building design, compartmentation and smoke control measures.
Fires are classified according to their fuel source:
Class A: Ordinary combustibles such as wood, paper and cloth
Class B: Flammable liquids such as oil, grease and solvents
Class C: Live electrical equipment
Class D: Combustible metals
Class K: Commercial cooking oils and fats
Understanding these classifications is essential for selecting the correct fire suppression methods and equipment. Using the wrong extinguisher can worsen a fire or create additional hazards.
A common question often asked is whether fire or smoke causes more fatalities. The answer is unequivocal – smoke kills more people than fire. Toxic smoke inhalation accounts for the majority of fire-related deaths. All combustible materials produce toxic gases when burned, depending on the material, oxygen availability and duration of combustion. Modern materials can release highly lethal gases within moments of ignition.
Common causes of fatal fires include delayed awareness due to failed alarms or notifications, careless attitudes, locked or blocked exits, lack of familiarity with escape routes, absence of drills, and escape routes rendered impassable by smoke as a result of poor ventilation. These factors highlight the critical importance of education, training and regular drills.
Such findings have driven major advancements in fire engineering, particularly in passive fire protection. This includes fire and smoke barriers, space separation, building layout and planning, smoke control systems, emergency exits, fire lifts, fire modelling, risk analysis and studies of human behaviour during fire events. Passive systems are especially vital because they function without human intervention.
Standards such as BS 7974 guide authorities and designers in assessing building fire risks and determining how best to minimise them. These assessments evaluate fire initiation, smoke spread, structural response, system activation, firefighter intervention and occupant evacuation.
Through proper assessment and regular maintenance, it is possible to determine a building’s fire safety status, including Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) and Available Safe Escape Time (ASET). When ASET is shorter than RSET, lives are at risk.
Fire engineering is complex and directly linked to public safety. Building maintenance strategies play a crucial role in ensuring that fire safety measures remain effective over time. Systems that are not maintained are systems that will fail when they are most needed. Yet, at the end of the day, the decision to take fire safety seriously lies with each of us.
It is worth remembering that 99 per cent of fires are preventable, with most stemming from human negligence. The answer to total fire safety lies in a shared commitment to precaution, prevention and protection.
Together, let us make Sarawak a safer place for all.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune.
