Fire Safety Impairment and Owner Refusal to Fund Repairs in an Older Shopping Complex

Risk ranking (highest first)

1. Sprinkler control valve closed. Total impairment of active suppression. Reinstate immediately; if repair requires isolation, implement a documented fire watch with trained staff and hourly patrols, and notify BOMBA and the insurer. A closed, padlocked valve with no tag is indefensible.
2. Obstructed escape stairs. Nine of fourteen blocked. Immediate removal, written notices to tenants, daily checks, and a warning that obstruction is an offence.
3. Fire alarm faults. Eleven faults mean detection may not report. Engage the servicing contractor today and log every fault and repair.
4. Gondola without permit-to-work. Stop the work; verify operator competency, harness, anchor points and the permit system.
5. Grease trap overflow. Environmental and slip hazard.

Statutory duties engaged

• Fire Services Act 1988: Fire Certificate conditions, means of escape and fire safety equipment.
• Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (as amended): duties to employees and to others affected by the undertaking, including contractors.
• Local authority licensing and drainage requirements, and the Environmental Quality Act 1974 for discharge.

72 hours: written instruction to the centre manager, dated photographic evidence, contractor attendance, BOMBA engagement, and a written report to the owner.

I cannot certify compliance or remain silent.

1. Issue a written risk memorandum to the owner: the specific breaches, likely enforcement action, potential closure, invalidity of the Fire Certificate, insurer avoidance and the personal exposure of directors.
2. Recommend the minimum spend to restore sprinklers and obtain quotations; propose a phased plan if the full RM120,000 is unavailable, but do not let phasing postpone the sprinkler restoration.
3. If the owner still refuses, escalate: report to BOMBA where there is imminent danger, notify the insurer, and seek written instructions confirming the refusal.
4. Check the management agreement. A clause saying the owner retains statutory compliance does not transfer my duty of care to visitors and workers. I must act on known risk, and I should reserve the right to resign or to notify the Board if instructed to conceal it.
5. Consider the Fire Certificate renewal: proceeding with a certificate while known defects exist could amount to a misrepresentation.

Judgement: document every step contemporaneously. A clear written record of advice, escalation and refusal is the manager's best protection, both professionally and in any subsequent inquiry.

Grease trap

• Stop food court discharge to the drain immediately; suspend affected operations if necessary.
• Engage a licensed grease trap contractor to pump out, clean and inspect downstream; require daily cleaning logs and a maintenance contract.
• Notify the local authority and, if discharge reaches a watercourse, the Department of Environment. Check the tenancy obligations and recover costs from the food court operator where the lease permits.

Gondola

• Stop work immediately and secure the area below.
• Verify the permit-to-work, competent operator, independent lifeline, counterweights, tie-in and the contractor's method statement.
• Do not allow resumption until the contractor's safety officer signs off and the equipment is inspected. Record worker names, equipment ID and the time of stoppage.

Governance

• Table a compliance report at the next council or JMB meeting with costs, deadlines and responsible persons.
• Confirm the contractor's insurance and the owner's public liability cover before any work resumes.

Judgement: both issues are foreseeable and preventable. Allowing either to continue after discovery converts a contractor's failure into the manager's own liability.