All Buildings In Yogyakarta Are Obligatory To Improve The Fire Protection System

Photo via Antara

JAKARTA - The Yogyakarta City Fire and Rescue Service encourages building owners to improve fire protection systems to support operational safety and minimize casualties.

"Since last year, we have started giving 'Syprotek awards to buildings that have a good fire protection system. From the results of our inspections, the average building fire protection system or management is still in the sufficient category," said Head of Yogyakarta City Fire and Rescue Department, Octo Noor Arafat on the sidelines of giving the Siprotek Award in Yogyakarta, Tuesday, October 25.

Every year, the Fire and Rescue Service conducts inspections of fire protection systems and management in 40 selected buildings or buildings.

Inspections are carried out against 23 parameters consisting of 17 active protection parameters and six rescue parameters. These parameters include the presence of pumps, water sources, suction pipes, fire alarms, hydrants, sprinklers, light fire extinguishers, automatic fire engines, emergency doors, fire elevators, gathering points, and safety management.

This year, the focus of inspection is on buildings that are used as hotels or office buildings and five of them are declared to have a good protection system, so they deserve an award.

The five buildings are El Royale Hotel, Hotel Tentrem, Hotel Ibis Style, Hotel Melia Purosani, and Graha Eklin.

Meanwhile, other buildings or hotels that are also being inspected this year are expected to improve the facilities and infrastructure to support fire protection systems, safety management to human resource capacity in preventing and handling fires.

"One of the things we continue to encourage is to carry out simulations of fire management. This simulation is important to see the readiness of equipment and responses when dealing with fires," he said as quoted by Antara.

Octo added that all buildings undergoing fire protection system inspections will receive recommendations from the results of the assessment as a basis for improving their systems.

"This recommendation is actually sought after by the building owner. For next year's assessment, there are even building owners who have applied for inspection," he said.

He said the target for inspections every year could be different, such as campuses, the business world, shopping centers, to schools or offices.

Meanwhile, Acting Mayor of Yogyakarta Sumadi said that handling fires is not only the responsibility of the Fire and Rescue Service, but also from community groups, including the business world.

Moreover, he continued, the city of Yogyakarta is not too wide, but has a large potential for fires because they are the center of economic activity.

"Therefore, the provision of fire protection systems that meet the requirements is very important, so that prevention and handling efforts can be carried out better," he said.

Until the end of September 2022, the Yogyakarta City Fire and Rescue Service had deployed 42 fires in the city and assisted 51 fires handling outside the city of Yogyakarta.