Around 5,000 old residential buildings in Macao lack effective management structures or maintenance protocols, posing fire risks to the surrounding districts, the Secretariat for Security says.
In a statement cited by Macau Post Daily, the secretariat said that the buildings did not have residents’ or owners’ committees, nor were property management companies hired to maintain the structures. It estimated that many of them were decrepit.
Officials added that the buildings, constructed at least 30 years ago, did not adhere to modern fire safety codes and had blocked fire exits, worn wiring, bad ventilation and no fire escape procedures.
[See more: Owners of old buildings are being asked to urgently inspect their properties]
While the Fire Services Bureau has special equipment for fighting fires in Macao’s tenement neighbourhoods – such as small pumps and motorcycle ambulances – promotion of fire safety still needs to be stepped up
In the first half of the year, firefighters conducted 642 inspections in 1,209 low-rise old residential buildings in the city’s old quarters, fining 10 for safety violations.
The bureau has pledged to carry out increased publicity and promotional work in the community, stressing the importance of fire safety.
