HDB MULTI-STOREY CARPARKS (Fire-resistant doors with automatic self-closing devices)

Mr Charles Chong asked the Minister for Home Affairs if he will review the Fire Safety Bureau's requirements for low-rise Housing and Development Board multi-storey carparks to be fitted with fire-resistant doors with automatic self-closing devices.

The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Sir, staircases are escape routes during fires. Hence, they have to be adequately protected. Although multi-storey carparks are usually designed with open-sided walls that allow good ventilation, this does not preclude the possibility of smoke, heat and fire penetrating the stairwell, thus hindering safe evacuation of people. This is especially so if the fire occurs near the staircase. Therefore, as long as the staircase is located within the multi-storey carpark building, the stairwell will have to be isolated and its walls and doors will have to be fire-resistant. The doors also have to be fitted with self-closing devices to ensure that the door is kept closed all the time to isolate and protect the stairwell. This ensures that there is a safe route of evacuation for people caught in a fire in a multi-storey car park.

Sir, we cannot assume that fires will not occur at multi-storey car parks or that people will not be caught in them. There have been cases of fires in multi-storey car parks causing extensive damage. A fire happened near the staircase of the multi-storey carpark of Block 931, Hougang St 11, in February 2000. Despite extensive damage to several cars which caught fire, the staircase enclosures in this case were unscathed by the fire, demonstrating the importance of fire resistant doors in ensuring a safe evacuation route for members of the public.