The Civil Protection Department is in the coming weeks proposing a number of fire safety regulations for apartment blocks.

The measures follow recommendations in an inquiry led by Magistrate Joseph Mifsud following a fire at a flat in Triq l-Aħmar, Marsascala, during which a man had lost his life. Six people had also been hospitalised.

They include that fire drills led by the administrator should be carried out in every apartment block, that each block should have fire extinguishers u fire blankets at a place that was visible and accessible and that there should be a smoke and fire detection alarm in the common area.

Other proposals are for emergency exit signage, easy accessibility to roofs, and that callers to emergency number 112 should give as much information as possible and identify a landmark for a faster response time.

These, the CPD said in a statement, were some of the measures that could be taken to prevent fire incidents from escalating.

It said it was there to serve the public when they needed it most and its members did this in the most professional, efficient and quick manner. This, it said, had been confirmed by the inquiry’s conclusions.