New tower ladders reaching up to 23 storeys, larger fire engines and tighter regulations for places of entertainment and high-rise buildings are in the pipeline, as part of an overhaul of Malta’s fire regulations.
Details of these plans were divulged in Parliament by Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia on Wednesday evening during question time.
Replying to a series of supplementary questions from government Whip Byron Camilleri and Opposition MP Maria Deguara, Dr Farrugia blamed Nationalist-led governments for lack of investment in the Civil Protection Department. He noted that next year, government would be allocating €7 million for the acquisition of firefighting equipment.
The Home Affairs Minister said that the existing CPD tower ladders could reach as high as 33 metres, which he said was no match for some of the new high-rise buildings. In view of this, the department was in the process of acquiring two new tower ladders which would have a maximum reach of 60 meters and 70 metres respectively. Moreover, the department would also be getting larger fire engines capable of storing a larger capacity of water.
The minister said that existing regulations needed to be overhauled, to avoid tragedies like the one at Grenfell Tower tragedy in London, when it transpired that the water pumps were not powerful enough to deliver the water to the sprinklers in the top floors.
However, the minister ruled out a proposal to invest in specialised firefighting helicopters saying this would have very limited use in Malta, as these are mostly intended for forest fires. On the other hand, Dr Farrugia said the Armed Forces were fully equipped to make rescue operations from high-rise buildings.
Dr Farrugia said that following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the CPD had carried out various inspections in high-rise buildings, from which it transpired that existing regulations in terms of emergency exits and firefighting equipment, were being respected.
Nonetheless, he said, the government would soon be launching a public consultation on a new set of regulations which would give the CPD authority to take action in cases of non-compliance, not only for high-rise building but also for places of entertainment.