Fire and Rescue Department deputy director-general of operations Datuk Soiman Jahid said the fire started on the first floor of the building after sparks from restoration works ignited the polyethylene cladding. — Picture by Mukhriz Hazim

PETALING JAYA, Feb 13 — Plastic cladding outside the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) building here caused the blaze triggered by maintenance work to spread rapidly and engulf the exterior, according to preliminary investigations.

Fire and Rescue Department deputy director-general of operations Datuk Soiman Jahid said the fire, which was put out in under 30 minutes, started on the first floor of the building after sparks from restoration works ignited the polyethylene cladding.

He added the flammable cladding, which covered much of the building’s façade, is believed to be unapproved.

“We have previously advised the public not to use flammable cladding for their buildings, as it may be cheap, but poses a great risk to life and property,

“With this incident, it will be the first recorded case of a fire involving flammable building façade in Malaysia,” Soiman said, likening it to the Grenfell Tower fire in London on June 14 last year, which resulted in 71 deaths.

“The use of such flammable materials as cladding is against uniform building by-laws. We will be doing enforcement work nationwide, especially on buildings’ fire certificates.”

He added that buildings with such flammable claddings will no longer be certified by the Fire Department or obtain renewals until these are removed or replaced.

Commenting on the blaze, he said the fire spread rapidly from the first floor to the fourth and parts of the sixth, but did not penetrate the building’s interior.

He added that no documents were lost save for some “unimportant files” on the sixth storey.

He said hot weather and winds also exacerbated the spread of the fire, which damaged approximately 40 per cent of the building.

The department was alerted to the fire at 11.52am, with the first fire engine arriving six minutes later.

Over 70 fire and rescue personnel took around 30 minutes to douse the flames.

“There are no casualties or injuries, and all 527 EPF staff were quickly alerted to the fire and managed to evacuate safely to the adjacent car park-cum-rescue area,” Soiman said.