SCHOOL OF HOUSING, BUILDING AND PLANNING (HBP)

HOUSING TECHNOLOGY
(RHS 513)
SEMESTER 1 2014/2015

AIR QUALITY AND FIRE SAFETY

REQUIREMENT FOR HOUSING IN MALAYSIA

ARNI NADHIRAH BINTI ABDUL HADI P-RM0025/14

FARAZIMAH BINTI MOHAMAD P-RM0027/14

LECTURER NAME: ASSOC. PROF. DR. MOHD RODZI ISMAIL

18th DECEMBER 2014

 TABLE OF CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Air Quality: A Definition...................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Fire Safety: A Definition ..................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Guideline Related To Air Quality And Fire Safety In Housing Development ................ 2
2. PROBLEM STATEMENT ............................................................................................................. 4
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 5
4. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................ 6
4.1 Air Quality ........................................................................................................................... 6
4.2 Fire Safety .......................................................................................................................... 7
5. AIR QUALITY .............................................................................................................................. 13
5.1 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) ............................... 13
5.2 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) ................................................................................................... 13
5.2.1 Dilution of Indoor Contaminants by Ventilation ....................................................... 16
5.2.2 Current Regulation IAQ United States (US) ............................................................ 18
5.3 Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) ............................................................................... 19
5.4 Air Quality Index ............................................................................................................... 21
5.5 Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) and Building Related Illnesses (BRI) ......................... 23
5.6 Air Quality in a New Home .............................................................................................. 25
6. FIRE SAFETY ............................................................................................................................. 25
6.1 Fire Safety Requirement In Housing Development....................................................... 25
6.2 Safety Performance Index for Malaysias Low Cost Housing ...................................... 28
6.3 Housing Design and Fire Safety ..................................................................................... 34
6.4 Prevailing Problems of Fire Safety in Housing .............................................................. 35
6.4.1 Infrastructure of Water Provision .............................................................................. 35
6.4.2 Maintenance the Infrastructure of Electrical Installations ....................................... 37
7. REVIEW OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS ............................................................................... 40
7.1 Uniform Building By Law 1986........................................................................................ 40
7.1.1 Air Quality in the Uniform Building By Law 1986 .................................................... 41
7.1.2 Fire Safety in the Uniform Building By Law 1986 ................................................... 42
7.2 Fire Services Act 1988 (Act 341) .................................................................................... 45
 7.3 Fire Services (Fire Certificate) Regulations 2001 ......................................................... 46
7.4 National Fire Protection Association Codes and Standards ........................................ 47
7.5 Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality 2005 ................................................................. 47
8 DATA AND ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................... 48
8.1 Air Quality Cases in Malaysia ......................................................................................... 48
8.1.1 Fungal Problem In Malacca Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) ....... 48
8.1.2 Fungal Infection in Sultan Ismail Specialist Hospital, Johor Bahru .......................... 50
8.1.3 Fungal Attack at Public Service Department , Cyberjaya ...................................... 50
8.2 Fire Safety Cases in Malaysia ........................................................................................ 51
9 FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................... 56
9.1 Air Quality ......................................................................................................................... 56
9.2 Fire Safety ........................................................................................................................ 57
10 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION .......................................................................................... 59
10.1 Air Quality ......................................................................................................................... 59
10.2 Fire Safety ........................................................................................................................ 60
11 LIST OF REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 62

ii
 LIST OF FIGURE

Figure 1: Standard list of design issues encounters in most development ................................... 16

Figure 2: Paradigm shift in the philosophy of ventilation since 1800 ............................................ 17
Figure 3: Principle of daytime ventilation (a) and night time cooling (b and c). (a) outdoor air
removes the heat gained indoor, (b) outdoor air cools the thermal mass during the night and (c)
the thermal mass absorbs heat during the day ................................................................................ 18
Figure 4: Six Air Quality Categories ................................................................................................. 22
Figure 5: Air Quality Index by Colours ............................................................................................. 22
Figure 6: Common Factors Associated with Indoor Air Pollution .................................................. 24
Figure 7:Summary of building input in precedent Building Performance Assessment ............... 30
Figure 8: Hierarchy of safety category, element and attribute for safety performance in
Malaysias Low cost housing ............................................................................................................. 31
Figure 9: Scale score of Safety Performance Index (SPI) ............................................................. 32
Figure 10: Limits of Compartment And Minimum Periods Of Fire Resistance For Element Of
Structure for Houses Other Than Single Storey Buildings. ............................................................. 45
Figure 11: Main Building of Malacca MACC Office ......................................................................... 49
Figure 12: Fungal problem on the wall at Malacca MACC Office .................................................. 49
Figure 13: Sultan Ismail Specialist Hospital, Johor Bahru ............................................................. 50
Figure 14: Public Service Department, Cyberjaya ......................................................................... 51

LIST OF TABLE

Table 1: Number of fire breakout by state and type of fire breakouts, Malaysia 2012 ................. 52
Table 2: Number of casualties in fire breakouts by state, Malaysia 2008-2012 ........................... 53
Table 3: Statistics on fire breakouts, Malaysia, 2008 - 2012 .......................................................... 53
Table 4: Number of fire breakouts by type, Malaysia, 2008 - 2012 ............................................... 54
Table 5: The number of fire breakout by source, 2008-2012 ......................................................... 55
Table 6: Number of fire breakout in building by type of building, 2008-2012................................ 56

iii
1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Air Quality: A Definition

The term air quality means the state of the air around us. Good air
quality refers to clean, clear, unpolluted air. Clean air is essential to
maintain delicate balance of life. Poor air quality occurs when pollutants
reach high enough concentrations to endanger human health and
environment. Pollutant can be indoor and outdoor.

1.1.1 Indoor Air Quality

Indoor refers to enclosed space such as home, schools or

workplaces that also can be polluted that came from outdoors or
emitted from indoor sources. Certain air pollutant can be worse
indoors than outdoors such as smoke, mould, and chemical release
from furnishing and household products.

A lack of ventilation indoors concentrates air pollution where

people spend most of their time especially in houses. Building
materials including carpeting and plywood emit formaldehyde
(VOCs) as they dry. Controlled wood fires on stoves and fireplaces
can add significant amounts of smoke particulates into the air,
inside and out. Indoor air pollution fatalities may be caused by
using pesticides and other chemicals sprays indoor without proper
ventilation.

1.2 Fire Safety: A Definition

Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce

the likelihood of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage,
alert those in structure to the presence of an uncontrolled fire in the event

1
 one occurs, better enable those threatened by fire to survive in an
evacuate from affected areas, or to reduce the damage caused by fire.

Fire safety measures include those that are planned during

construction of a building or implemented in structures that are already
standing. Fire safety is often a component of building safety. Fire
Department are those who inspect buildings for violating of Fire Code.

1.3 Guideline Related To Air Quality And Fire Safety In Housing

Development

In developing any housing scheme, there are certain requirement

and guideline issued by the government to be followed related to housing
development. In most developed countries such as United State and
United Kingdom, there is a standard sets in controlling housing quality so
called Housing Quality Standard (HQS). However, this HQS referred to
government housing assisted scheme only. This HQS consist of
performance requirements and acceptability criteria for housing
development including:

i. Sanitary facilities;
ii. Food preparation and refuse disposal;
iii. Space and security;
iv. Thermal environment;
v. Illumination and electricity;
vi. Structure and materials;
vii. Interior air quality;
viii. Water supply;
ix. Lead-based paint;
x. Access;
xi. Site and neighborhood;
xii. Sanitary condition; and

2
 xiii. Smoke detectors.

As we can see from the list above, air quality and fire safety are two
requirements that need to be fulfilled to match the housing quality
standard.

Concern for the quality of air in the buildings and exposure to toxic
substances has been rising in recent years. According to United State
Environmental Protection Agency (U.S EPA), three major reasons for poor
indoor air quality of houses are because of poorly designed, poorly
maintained and the poor ventilation system. General requirement for
interior air quality required the dwelling unit must be free from pollutants in
the air at levels that threaten the health of occupants. According to
National Center for Healthy Housing, United state, few acceptable criteria
for interior air quality are:

i. The dwelling unit must be free from dangerous levels of air

pollution from carbon monoxide, sewer gas, fuel gas, dust,
and other harmful pollutions;
ii. There must be adequate air circulation in the dwelling unit;
iii. Bathroom areas must have one openable window or other
adequate exhaust; and
iv. Any room used for sleeping must have at least two windows.
If the window is designed to be openable, the window must
work.

Fires always cause damage to property. As prevention, it is

required the house building to have an alternative means of exit in case of
fire such as fire stairs or egress through windows.

3
 Smoke detector must be installed in each level of the dwelling
including basements, but excluding spaces and unfinished attics at least
one battery operator per hard wired smoke detector in proper condition
must be present. Consultation with the local fire officers is recommended
regarding acceptable types and location of smoke detector.

In developing country such as Malaysia, there is no specific

guideline such as this Housing Quality Standard that has been
implemented in United State. However, Malaysia has few regulation
related to air quality and air safety under jurisdiction of few department
such as local authority department and Fire and Rescue Department that
need to be followed by developer and housing residents.

In Malaysia, Fire Rescue Department or popularly known as Bomba

is responsible in giving fire and rescue services. The fire safety standards
must be implemented by following the regulations in the Uniform Building
By law (UBBL) 1986, National Fire Protection Association Codes and
Standards and Fire Service Act 1988.

2. PROBLEM STATEMENT

Housing is a major concern for all people in every corner of the world as
the well being of a country is reflected in its people enjoying a certain standard of
living. Residential and neighbourhood satisfaction is an important indicator of
housing quality and condition, which affects individuals quality of life. The
aspects of safety in a completed residential or house should be able to enhance
the quality of a building as well as to provide safety to the occupants. In the
current economic situation, the emerging problem in residential property is the
growing demand from residents for a better and safer housing. Therefore, it has
become increasingly important to evaluate residential property for many reasons.

4
 Housing developments are not only providing structures to live in, but are
supposed to address other aspects of housing as well. While the previous efforts
in housing have been directed towards meeting the quantitative shortage of
dwellings, safety aspects of housing have gained importance in recent years.

Safety aspect of the house, in this study report concern on two major
aspects, namely air quality and fire safety. While the standard of air quality and
fire safety have been set up in other country like Singapore, Canada, UK and US,
are there sufficient rules, regulation or guideline related to air quality and fire
safety be implemented by the house player to ensure the safety aspect for the
house occupant in Malaysia?

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research methodology is a systematic way to solve problem. It is

defined as the study of methods by which knowledge is gained. It is aimed to
give the work plan of research (S. Rejasekar et al, 2008).

In this assignment, secondary data were fully utilized. References from

articles, journals, books related to air quality and fire safety requirement in a
housing development are used to study air quality and fire safety requirement in
Malaysia and comparison with other similar requirement from other countries.

This study reviewed readily available information on air quality and fire
safety requirement in Malaysia. However, there is no detailed, comprehensive
academic text on these types of policies/ requirement related to air quality and
fire safety requirement for housing in Malaysia.

Key areas of interest for this research are the requirement for fire security
and air quality, cases reported on air quality and fire safety issues and
comparison from Malaysia standard with the other countries standard.

5
 Study of different procedure / regulation approaches by different countries
may answer questions about what is the best practice in regulating air quality and
fire safety in housing development. However, most of our secondary data are
unusual in providing detailed information on air quality regulations in Malaysia
due to lack of information. Most of the documentary sources related to air quality
have been more limited in depth.

4. LITERATURE REVIEW

4.1 Air Quality

The air quality in any building can be compromised by microbial

contaminants (mould, bacteria), chemicals (such as carbon monoxide,
formaldehyde), allergens, or any mass or energy stressor that can induce
health effects (John et al. 2000).

Indoor Air Quality can have significant influence on health resulting

in drop of productivity and economy of a country. It has been estimated
that in the US, building related illnesses (BRI) symptoms have a
relationship with a decrease (3 to 5%) in work performance in an affected
population resulting in an annual loss of US$60 billion in revenue.
However, based on efficient management programs they have also
projected that the potential annual savings can be in the region of US$10
to 30 billion. This establishes that fact that good management programs
based on efficient guidelines is of economic value to a country and well
being of the population.

Housing-based hazards can result in a constellation of health

problems, especially among children and the elderly (US HUD, 1999;
Krieger and Higgins, 2002; Thomson 2009; Habib 2009). For instance,
inadequate heating, cooling and moisture control can cause or exacerbate
asthma and other respiratory diseases. Poisonings may be caused by

6
 lead (from water piping, wall paint, glazed pottery), carbon monoxide,
pesticides and cleaning agents. Injuries from accidents especially among
children and the elderly may stem from high-rise housing or lack of safety
equipment and are likely to be exacerbated by lack of smoke alarms, fire
extinguishers and sprinklers (Anderson and Bogdan, 2007).

Despite the large volume of literature describing the role of housing

in shaping people's health experiences (US HUD, 1999; Jacobs 2007;
Leventhal and Newman, 2010), there are currently few standardized
protocols to assess multiple housing-related hazards and their
relationships to occupant's health (Bell, 2011).

The sick building syndrome (SBS) has become common issues in

Malaysia recent years due to the construction of buildings designed to be
energy-efficient with air conditioning system (Berardil, 1991) but poor
maintenance and services of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
(HVAC) system resulting the increasing of indoor air pollutants (IAP)
levels.

4.2 Fire Safety

A study conducted by Ahmad (2006) shows that generally safety is

one of the four objectives to maintain a buildings sustainability in terms of
ensuring health and safety of building users and occupants. Safety is
therefore critically contributing to the high or the poor performance
achievement of a building.

Deaths and injuries arising from dwelling fires are a cause for
concern within the UK. Every year, almost 400 people are killed and over
10,000 injured as a result of a domestic fire. Current, yet provisional, data
from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) in

7
UK suggests that in the year ending 30th June 2008, Fire and Rescue
Services attended a total of 760,000 fires or false alarms within the UK
(DCLG, 2009). Of these, 42,000 were accidental dwelling fires. In the
same period, 352 deaths occurred and 10,400 injuries were sustained as
a result of a domestic fire.

The effects of fire can cause serious disruption to domestic life

through the loss of personal belongings and damage to the home. In
2006, the average cost of a domestic fire in the UK was estimated at
24,900, of which approximately 14,600 was considered to be the
economic cost of injuries and fatalities and 7300 was due to property
damage (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister [ODPM], 2006).

Reducing the incidence and severity of unintentional injuries

sustained within the home is a public health priority (Department of Health,
2003) and various preventative measures targeting unintentional injuries
have been introduced. Primary interventions are engineering approaches
which attempt to eradicate human factors from a situation and rely on
structural or environmental modification

A number of primary prevention measures have been incorporated

within the UK building regulations, for example the installation of fire doors
within dwellings to protect against the effects of fire. Secondary
prevention strategies attempt to modify an individuals behavior, and as
such, focus on the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of individuals. Neither
of these approaches however considers the interaction that may arise
between behavior and the environment.

Heimplaetzer and Goossens (1991) argue that many primary

solutions aimed at preventing unintentional injury within the home have
been chosen on the basis of partial or incomplete modeling of these

8
solutions. For example, in preventing children falling down stairs a closure
may be fitted at the top of a flight of stairs, but the consequences of this
modification for other occupants is overlooked. In this manner, safety
measures introduced to protect occupiers from one element of danger can
introduce additional hazards within the home.

Indeed, Pickett (2003) highlighted the finger-trapping hazard

created by self-closing fire doors within three storey dwellings on a new
development in Bristol, whereby the self-closing mechanism on the door
applied a continuous force until the door hit the latch. Pickett recorded that
over 700 internal self-closing fire doors had been fitted in 64 dwellings on
the development. He reported that over 30,000 domestic incidents of
finger-trapping occur annually and concluded that as more properties were
occupied there was further potential for injury.

The strategies of fire prevention have been developed by many

countries and cities respectively to reduce the threats of fires to human
lives and their property fire (Guicheng, 2006). The outcome of the analysis
shows that residential fire remains the major type among all fire incidents
and the main reason causing unintentional fire death. For example, the
majority of fire death of the United States, 75% of the total, is residential
fires. In London, 78% of unintentional fire death were caused by
residential fires (Holborn, 2003).

Tenants of rental accommodation have higher rates of residential

fire deaths and injuries compared with owner-occupiers. Goodsman, found
that council flats and housing association flats in two UK metropolitan
boroughs were more susceptible than other property types to fires which
resulted in injury (Goodsman, 1987). The relative vulnerability of
occupants of different types of property in the New Zealand context is not
known. Housing quality is considered a key factor in the high injury rates

9
experienced by poor children in the UK (Roberts, 1997). Poor housing
conditions may exist in cheaply constructed new dwellings, and in poorly
maintained older dwellings. For example, older homes may be more
vulnerable to electrical wiring faults which, although they account for less
than two per cent of all fires in New Zealand, account for almost six per
cent of fatal fires (Irwin, 1997).

Lack of a smoke detector at a household level in the United States,

has been demonstrated to increase fire mortality risk. Compared with non-
fatal fires, fatal fires were over three times more likely to occur in a home
without a functioning smoke detector (Runyan, 1992). Economically and
socially deprived households, who are at most risk of fire related death or
injury, are the least likely to have functioning smoke detectors installed
(Gorman, 1985). Programs to supply and install smoke detectors to
households at risk have been associated with apparent reductions in fire
injury rates (Mallonee, 1996), although there is a need for randomized
controlled trials to fully test the accuracy of these findings (DiGuiseppi,
2000).

Safety-related laws and regulations are among the most effective

ways to encourage change in individuals and populations (Schieber,
2000). Legislation to ensure that lighters are child safe deals with fire
injury risk in an immediate way (Ministry of Consumer Affairs, 1998). A
concerted approach to tobacco control, such as the use in New Zealand of
taxation, legislation, and subsidized quit programs has been shown to
reduce prevalence of smoking in the community and thus to impact
secondarily on unintentional fire-related injury. For households including
smokers not yet able to quit, a private members Bill recently considered by
the New Zealand Parliament promotes the development of a mandatory
standard to ensure that discarded cigarettes cannot ignite flammable
materials (New Zealand Parliament, 2000). All cigarettes sold in New York

10
State must be self-extinguishing by mid-2003, with proceeds from civil
fines being used for fire safety and prevention programs (New York State
Senate Research Service, 2000).

In the U.S. in 1975, in an effort to limit fire-related fatalities, injuries,

and economic damages, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
produced NFPA standard 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler
Systems in One and Two Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes, to
ensure fire sprinklers installed in residences would limit flashover and
allow for occupant egress and rescue, while maintaining system
affordability (Madrzykowski and Fleming, 2008).

Since then residential fire sprinklers have proven themselves as

life-safety technologies to the fire service community, but homeowner
adoption has been remarkably slow. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)
advocates that all homes be equipped with smoke alarms and automatic
fire sprinklers (USFA, 2008a). Still less than 1% of all homes involved in
fires are protected by an automatic fire sprinkler system (Butry et al.,
2007).

Only recently have residential fire sprinklers been shown to be cost-

effective for homeowners, as installation costs have fallen and safety
performance has been demonstrated statistically system (Butry et al.,
2007; Butry, 2008). Earlier sprinkler research (Harmathy, 1988; Juas and
Mattson, 1994; Ruegg and Fuller, 1984) suggested mixed economic
performance, at best, which may explain the low historical adoption rate.
Thus it was only recently that the International Code Council (ICC) passed
a modification (RB64) to the International Residential Code (IRC) requiring
all new one and two family dwellings to be equipped with a fire sprinkler
system beginning in 2011. The IRC is a set of model codes currently in
use by 49 states and the District of Columbia. While recent research has

11
demonstrated that residential fire sprinklers yield reductions in fatalities,
injuries, and property damage, it relied on the use of a national estimates
approach, and ignored underlying differences between sprinklered and
non-sprinklered homes related to structural characteristics, construction
materials, demographical factors, and the presence of other fire safety
technologies.

The national estimates approach, as detailed in Hall and Harwood

(1989), scales individual fire incidents reported to the USFA National Fire
Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) by participating states with data
provided by the NFPA.1 Producing national estimates to compare fatalities
and injuries in sprinklered homes with non-sprinklered homes is possible,
but scaling incident data parsed into groupings related to sprinkler type,
dwelling age, and presence of other fire safety technology (i.e., smoke
alarm type), to name only a few differences potentially confounding
performance, is extremely challenging, if at all feasible. A deficiency
occurs in reporting detailed fire statistics regarding sprinklered and non-
sprinklered homes that has less to do with the validity of the national
estimates approach, but rather, with the volume (or lack thereof) of
observational data used to generate these statistics. Only a small number
of reported fires occur in sprinklered homes, and a few incidents (i.e.,
outliers) may skew the statistics and the findings.

Certainly if underlying factors confound the relationship between

sprinklers use and the incidence of fatalities and injuries, and these factors
are ignored in statistical analyses, the measured effectiveness of
sprinklers may be misleading. Performance is measured as the reduction
in fatalities, injuries, and property losses. Propensity score matching
(PSM), commonly employed in labor economics and epidemiology to
measure the effects of programs and treatments, facilitates comparisons

12
 between treated units (e.g., sprinklered homes) with similar untreated
units (e.g., non-sprinklered homes).

5. AIR QUALITY

5.1 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

The term Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and Indoor Air Quality
(IAQ) are often confused. The basic difference between the two is that
IEQ refers to the environment that exists inside a building such as the
concentration of CO2 gases, the thermal conditions and dampness.
Whereas IAQ is strictly a function of the interaction of contaminant
sources and the effectiveness of ventilation utilized to dilute and remove
air contaminants.

5.2 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

As mentioned in the Chapter 1 - Introduction, indoor air quality is

very important since people generally spend up to 90% of their time
indoors especially at home. According to British Centre for Disease
Control (2010), Poor indoor quality may cause one or more symptoms
such as headache, wheezing, tiredness, coughing, sneezing, sinus
congestion, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, and irritation of eyes,
nose or throat. Allergy or asthma symptoms may also get worse because
of poor indoor quality. Many indoor pollutants exist including the following:

i. Biological contaminants. Examples are fungi (moulds), insect such

as dust mites and cockroaches, dust and pollens;
ii. Combusting (burning) by products which are gases and small
particles caused by incomplete burning of fuels such as oil, gas,
kerosene, wood, and coal.

13
iii. Formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Formaldehyde is a chemical found in many building materials such
as plywood and particleboard, in furnishings and in personal care
products such as in nail polishes and certain shampoos.
iv. Radon is naturally occurring radioactive gas given off during the
decay of uranium which naturally occurs in some soil and rock. It
can enter home or building directly through the buildings
foundation from surrounding soil.

There are three basic ways to improve indoor quality as follows:

i. Control the source - Remove the source of pollutant or reduce the

level of emissions.

ii. Improve Ventilation - Increase the amount of outdoor air coming

indoors by keeping your home well ventilated, especially when
cooking or painting. On days when outdoor quality is poor,
increasing ventilation can increase indoor air pollution.

iii. Air cleaning - Air cleaning maybe used in homes in addition to

improve ventilation and to control or eliminate sources of pollution.

A good indoor air quality always associates with healthy building.

However it is important to recognize that although indoor air quality (IAQ)
is an important determinant of healthy design, it is not a sole determinant.
Other parameters include lighting, acoustic, vibration, aesthetic, comfort
and security. Our building interiors, once thought of as providing safe
havens from the effect of outdoor air pollutant and harsh climates, may
actually be more polluted than surrounding ambient environment.

14
 According to Spengler, J.D. & Chen, Q. (2000), there have been
many attempts recently to describe the attributes and process for
achieving healthy design. Figure 1 reflects the standard list of design
issues encounters in most development. Here, we annotated the
relationship of these decisions to potential IAQ issues. The list serves the
point to instruct the designer that a myriad of choices will potentially
contribute to IAQ. Healthy design is possible through proper control of
indoor contaminants. Unfortunately, there are few recognized indoor air
quality standards. Applying ambient air standards from the US WHO, only
covers few chemicals compounds. Furthermore, there is no guidance from
recognized authorities for hundreds of chemicals even for those known or
suspected to be human carcinogens. There is no acceptable level of
indoor risk has been established. There is also lack of IAQ standards for
microbiological components. Even if such standards existed, however
there could not be used in predictive models.

15
Figure 1: Standard list of design issues encounters in most development

5.2.1 Dilution of Indoor Contaminants by Ventilation

One most commonly used control strategy is dilution indoor
contaminants by ventilation. American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) define

16
 ventilation as a process of supplying or removing air bay natural or
mechanical means to or from any space. Ventilation systems are
used to maintain a good thermal comfort level; and acceptable IAQ
in indoor environment, at a reasonable cost. Figure 2 shows the
paradigm shift in philosophy of ventilation since 1800.

Figure 2: Paradigm shift in the philosophy of ventilation since 1800

The major parameters that have an impact on thermal

comfort are air temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, and
environment temperature. Other parameters, such as turbulence
intensity and radiant temperature assymetry, are also important to
thermal comfort. The satndard stipulates on operative air
temperature between 20 and 27oC and a relative humidity between
30% and 60%. The temperatures varies with different seasons, the
closing levels and the metabolism of occupants.

17
 By design, the ventilation should be sufficient to dilute the
contaminant sources so that the concentration of the contaminants
will be below than trasholds. Ventilation can be done either by
natural ventilation or using mechanical ventilation. Figure 3 shows
the principle of natural ventilation during day and night time.
Compared to mechanical ventilation systems, natural ventilation
consume litte energy, require little maintenance, low cost and
environmental friendly.

Figure 3: Principle of daytime ventilation (a) and night time cooling (b and c). (a) outdoor air
removes the heat gained indoor, (b) outdoor air cools the thermal mass during the night and (c)
the thermal mass absorbs heat during the day

5.2.2 Current Regulation IAQ United States (US)

With referred with the united State current guideline, it

seems that the existing guideline related to Indoor Air Quality are
limited. There are few agencies involve including the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), Consumer Product Safety Commission and
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
However, these agencies only focusing on specific situations or

18
 particular material. Their regulations significantly penetrate the
building industry in only three areas which are asbestos, lead and
formaldehyde (Spengler, J.D and Chen, Q. (2000)). Federal
government activities have mostly been directed at education and
research.

Some states have pursued IAQ through code and regulation.

In New York for example, New York City Department of Design and
Construction has issued guidelines for the design and construction
of high performance buildings that include ,any IAQ enhancing
features.

5.3 Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

According to Tiffany Coyle, United State Green Council, Indoor

Environmental Quality (IEQ) encompasses the conditions inside a building
including air quality, lighting thermal conditions, ergonomics and their
effects on occupants or residents. Strategies for addressing IEQ include
those that protect human health, improve quality of life, and reduce stress
and potential injuries. Better indoor environmental quality can enhance the
lives of building occupants, increase the resale value of the building, and
reduce liability fir building owners.

IEQ often focuses on providing stimulating comfortable

environments for occupants and minimizing the risk of building related
health problems.

Common sources of indoor air contaminants including follows:

i. People smoking inside the building entrances or air uptakes;

19
ii. Building materials such as paints, coating, adhesives, sealants, and
furniture that may emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
substances that vaporize at room temperature and can cause
health problems;
iii. Combustion process in HVAC equipment, fireplaces and stoves
and vehicles in garages or near entrances;
iv. Mold resulting from moisture in building materials;
v. Cleaning materials; and
vi. Radon or methane off-gassing from the soil underneath the
building.

The best way to prevent indoor pollutants to eliminate or control

them at the sources. The next line of defense is proper ventilation to
remove any pollutants that do enter. IEQ improvements to an existing
building can occur at any point during the use of a building. Development
process must have a comprehensive, integrated perspective that seeks to:

i. Facilitate quality IEQ through good design, construction,

commissioning and operating and maintenance practice;
ii. Value aesthetic decisions, such as the importance of views and the
integration;
iii. Provide thermal comfort with a maximum degree of control over
temperature and air flow;
iv. Supply adequate levels and quality of ventilation and outside air for
acceptable indoor air quality;
v. Prevent airborne bacteria, mold, and another fungi, as well as
radon, through the building envelope design that property
manages moisture source from outside and inside the building, with
the heating, ventilating, effective air conditioning system design
that effective in controlling indoor humidity;
vi. Use materials that do not emit pollutants or low emitting;

20
 vii. Assure acoustic privacy and comfort through the use of sound
absorbing material and equipment isolation;
viii. Control disturbing odors through contaminant isolation and
removal;
ix. Create a high performance luminous environment through the
careful integration of natural and artificial light sources; and
x. Provide quality water.

5.4 Air Quality Index

Base on United State Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA),

Air Quality Index (AQI) is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you
how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects you
may experience within few hours or days after breathing polluted air. The
higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater
the health concern. AQI values below 100 are generally thought of
satisfactory. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is considered to
be unhealthy. At first, only for certain groups of people, than will affect
everyone as AQI values get higher. AQI is divided into six categories as
stated in Figure 4 below.

21
 Figure 4: Six Air Quality Categories

EPA has assigned a specific colour of AQI for easy understanding as in

Figure 5 below.

Figure 5: Air Quality Index by Colours

22
5.5 Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) and Building Related Illnesses (BRI)

The health impacts due to poor IAQ can be classified as acute or

chronic, examples are asthma, respiratory infections, allergic
rhinoconjunctivities, lung cancer and pulmonary tuberculosis. These
health impacts are referred to as Sick Building Syndrome and Building
Related Illnesses. The United States Environmental Protection Agency
(USEPA), defines Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) as situations in which
building occupants experience discomfort and acute health effects that
appear to be linked to time spent in building. Indicators of SBS are:
complaints of discomfort e.g. headache; eye, nose or throat irritations; dry
cough; skin irritation; dizziness and nausea; fatigue and sensitiveness to
odour. The relief to the discomfort is experienced immediately on leaving
the building.

As for Building Related Illnesses (BRI), the definition is symptoms

of diagnosable illnesses or cause that can be identified and attributed
directly to airborne building contaminants. Indicators of BRI include
complaints of cough, chest tightness, chills, fever and muscle aches.
Occupants may need prolonged recovery times after leaving the building.
Building-related illnesses (BRI) are illnesses that arise in non-industrial
and non-residential buildings. The diseases include those that are due to
agents that cause infectious, immunologic and allergic symptoms, as well
as a heterogeneous group of work-related symptoms that include irritation
of the skin, mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and throat, headache,
fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. Both physical environment (e.g.
indoor air quality) and psychosocial factors have been found to be
associated with BRI. The symptoms of BRI that are attributed to the
physical environment of specific buildings are part of the sick building
syndrome (SBS).

23
 IAQ is a challenge to environmental health issues as the pollutant
that cause it are not only physical attributes and chemicals but also
microbiological agents. They can have significant influence on health
resulting in drop in productivity and economy of a country. The society at
large can be placed at risk as poor management of buildings can be a
source of disease outbreaks. The developed countries such as the USA,
Australia and Canada have special teams working on IAQ. These teams
have good networking skills and established linkages with many other
relevant agencies (e.g. NIOSH, Health and Aged Care, NGOs,
Development Unit, Department of Environment) that contribute towards
improving indoor air quality. NIOSH USA suggested almost similar factors
that are associated with IAQ problems listed in Figure 6 below:

Common Factors Associated with Indoor Air Pollution

Building material
contamination
4% Cause not
Microbiological
determined
contaminants
13%
5%
Contamination
Inadequate
brought in from
ventilation
outside the
52%
building
10%
Contamination from
inside the building
16%

Figure 6: Common Factors Associated with Indoor Air Pollution

24
 5.6 Air Quality in a New Home

Building a new home provides the opportunity to prevent indoor air

problems. But it can also result in exposure to higher levels of indoor air
contaminations if careful attention is not given to potential pollution
sources and the air exchange rate.

Building materials and furnishings must be low-emitting and about

providing and adequate amount of ventilation. The American Society of
Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning engineers (ASHRAE)
recommends a ventilation rate of 0.35 ach (air change per hour) for new
homes.

Few important actions that can be taken to improve indoor air

quality in housing development are as follows:

i. Choose building materials and furnishing that will keep indoor air
pollution to a minimum.
ii. Provide proper drainage and seal foundations in new construction.
iii. Air that enters home through the foundation can contain more
moisture than is generated from all occupant activities.
iv. Consider to install mechanical ventilation systems.
v. Ensure the combustion appliances including furnaces, fireplaces,
woodstoves, and heaters are properly vented and receive enough
supply air.

6. FIRE SAFETY

6.1 Fire Safety Requirement In Housing Development

25
 Fire will always be a major cause of damage to property, injury and
loss of life. Fire accompanied with smoke within enclosed places such as
houses, will pose a greater threat. Thus, the most appropriate solution
against risk of fire is to adopt adequate safety measures incorporating
prevention, early detection and control means if fire does occur. All
buildings should be designed and provided with the appropriate level of
safety measure in accordance with engineering and legislative
requirements and thereafter be continuously maintained.

Prevention should include proper design and installation of system

to mitigate against all potential causes of fire. It is noted that in Malaysia,
the occurrence of fire in buildings is still relatively high. Whether reported
in official statistics or from daily reports of such fires on news media
(Cheong T.L et. al, 2006).

In 2004, a special committee was set up by the Institution of

Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) headed by Ir Chen Thiam Leong and
comprising members from The Fire Rescue Department Malaysia
(FRDM), Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM), Malaysia Fire Protection
Association (MFPA), General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM)
and few volunteers to examine existing local legislations, examine existing
engineering practice on building and facilities design and suggest review,
where appropriate.

Base on their research, residential fire are far ahead of the rest of
other type of buildings. 42.3% of the total fire incident was from residential.
Residential units can be further categorized into rural and urban units.
Generally, rural units are constructed of combustible materials with
increases fire risks. Residential unit does not have fire fighting appliances
installed and thus any incipient fire can spread rapidly.

26
 Presently, there is a sufficient act in place for the purpose of
ensuring fire safety in buildings. The regulations for fire safety in the
design and construction of buildings are adequate and present
enforcement by the FRDM already ensures that buildings are properly
designed and constructed for fire safety.

However, once the building is issued with a Certificate of Fitness for

Occupation (CFO), a different situation occurs. Fire safety equipments are
seldom properly maintained or tested and have been known to fail to
operate in the event of fire. This notorious maintenance culture of the
Malaysian society must be addressed.

In assuring fire safety of the housing area, there are four prevailing
problems which are:

a. Infrastructure of Water Provision - External public hydrants are

normally connected to the infrastructutal domestic water piping
reticulation. At the onset design, water supply pressure would be
conformed by the relevant Water Works Authority for the particular
development. The water supply pressures are normally
conservative and adequate for the proposed scheme once approval
obtained. However, problems do arise after CFO. Improper use of
public hydrants inevitably results in certain problems such as low
water pressure, missing hydrants, disable hydrants and abused
hydrants.

b. Maintenance -. Most of the fires occurred after buildings are in

operation for years and are mainly due to low maintenance.

c. Renovation or Change of Use - At the design and construction

stage, designers make assumptions based on the design by

27
 developers who will not have any responsibilities over the sold
buildings. Whilst the buildings are designed based on assumptions
of type of usage, there are nevertheless governed strictly relevant
planning guideline. Currently, it can be said that all new buildings
issued with CFO are safe and adequately protected from fire.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the buildings after the
occupants have moved in and started using the building.
Renovation works covering interior decoration, partitioning and
alterations are frequently carried out with scant regard for fire safety
as priority. Decorators and renovation contractors are unaware or
pay less attention on fire safety provisions. Materials chosen very
often fire risk, alarm system disconnected and escape route
diverted.

d. Conflict With Security Requirements - It is quite common for some

tenants to install magnetic door locks or key locks at emergency
staircases including flats. This will conflict with fire protection
requirements by displaying unobstructed access for emergency
escape during a fire.

6.2 Safety Performance Index for Malaysias Low Cost Housing

In the context of low cost housing construction in Malaysia,

Malaysia Construction Industry has introduced Construction Industry
Standard 1 (CIS 1:1998) and Construction Industry Standard 2 (CIS
2:1998); a standard that specify uniform design and planning requirements
for low cost houses in Malaysia [9, 10, 11]. Both of these standards
incorporate safety as one of the main components in developing low cost
housing (LCH) for the lower income groups in Malaysia. The scope of this
standard includes requirement on layout, space and configuration of
houses with the aim of ensuring that safety, health, infrastructures and

28
amenities are not denied to the dwellers. However despite the
enforcement of these regulatory measures yet, there are many safety
problems faced by low cost occupants in Malaysia.

In Malaysia, specific assessment of safety performance is rather

limited. It was found that several assessment of building performance in
general, has allocate safety as one of the performance factor in such
evaluation. The objective of reviewing recent safety performance
assessment is to determine the most vital elements and attributes of
safety performance in low-cost housing. A number of building performance
assessment methods currently in use or recently developed will be
reviewed. These schemes are the Building Quality Assessment (BQA) in
Australia and New Zealand, the Building Environmental Assessment
Method (HK-BEAM), the Comprehensive Environmental Performance
Assessment Scheme for Buildings (CEPAS) and the Standard of House
Performance Appraisal (SHPA) in Mainland China.

These performance assessments are selected to be reviewed since

safety issues are concern in the assessment. It is concerned that in these
performance assessments, the concept of safety still comprise as a vital
element in determining the holistic performance of a high rise building.
The score of each category is based on merit allocation and the merits are
obtained from the identified building occupants as stipulated in the
researcher survey. The summary of these schemes is documented as per
following Figure 7.

29
Figure 7:Summary of building input in precedent Building Performance Assessment

The above summary shows the significance of safety that can be a

prevailing factor to improve building performance. Safety Performance
Index (SPI) needs to introduced in this study in order to obtain the safety
performance score of low cost housing, by focussing at Klang Valley area.
Hence, by reviewing these schemes, it can be concluded that safety is
categorised into:

i) Building Performance, and

ii) Building Quality.

30
 Under the category of building performance, the attributes of safety
are further divided into structural performance, services, space
functionality and amenities while under category of building quality is
further divided into architectural, finishes, materials and workmanship. All
of these elements become the probable factors that constitute to safety
problems of low-cost housing in occupancy stage. Hence, each of the
safety elements derives the specific attributes that may affect the
occupants safety in low cost housing. The hierarchy of Safety
Performance Index (SPI) is developed as per following Figure 8.

Figure 8: Hierarchy of safety category, element and attribute for safety performance in
Malaysias Low cost housing

Figure 8 shows the hierarchy of determining Safety Performance

Index (SPI) that is essentially will be integrated with Post Occupancy
Evaluation (POE) concept as an integrated tool. This will provides
guidance to all relevant building players on items that constitute a safe
building for low cost housing, and acts as a platform to assess
31
performance of safety in the residential. It covers eight (8) elements of
safety under the category of building performance and building quality.

There are three (3) factors or attributes that is relatively affect the
safety of each element; for example, Safety Element: Structural
Performance is affected due to performance failure of column and beam,
roof structure and floor slab. In order to obtain the score of safety
performance for each attributes, the scale of safety performance are listed
in Figure 9 below:

Figure 9: Scale score of Safety Performance Index (SPI)

At the moment, the description of scale for safety performance of

each attributes will be established is yet to be identified. It will be
determined by way of direct weighing through preliminary surveys and
semistructured interview of the building experts in construction industry.

A study conducted by Ahmad et. al (2006) shows that generally

safety is one of the four objectives to maintain a building sustainability:

i. Ensure health and safety of building users and occupants

ii. Maximize the availability of plant/equipment for productive
usage extend the life-span of a building and its

32
 plant/equipment by minimizing their wear and tear and
deterioration
iii. Reduce the cost of lost production due to breakdown
iv. Uphold or give added value to the building for better market
price.

Safety is therefore critically contributes the high or poor

performance achievement of a building. there are several reported cases
and safety failures of Malaysias low cost housing that harmed the
residents or the occupants life. The fact about low cost housing
construction is that Malaysias Construction Industry has introduced
Construction Industry Standard 1 (CIS 1:1998) and Construction Industry
Standard 2 (CIS 2:1998); a standard that specify uniform design and
planning requirements for low cost houses in Malaysia (Sufian and
Mohamad, 2009; Sufian and Abd Rahman, 2008; Ismail, 2003). Both of
these standards incorporate safety as one of the main component in
developing low cost housing (LCH) for the lower income group in
Malaysia. The scope of this standard includes requirement on layout,
space and configuration of houses with the aims of ensuring that safety,
health, infrastructures and amenities are not denied to the dwellers.
However, despite the enforcement of these regulatory measures yet, there
are many safety problems faced by low cost occupants in Malaysia.

It proves that users are currently getting more conscious of safety

issues in housing environments. According to Yau (2006), performance in
safety has become one of the attributes of building quality. Structure
failures, falling objects, fire hazards, services failures and special hazards
are the main key elements in a safe building (Yau, 2006). Whilst
Kowaltowski (2006) indicates quality relates to the safety, that the user
attitudes depend on the psychological well-being, feelings of security and
safety and the perception of space as territory. Hence, with relation to the

33
 title, the main purpose of this study is to develop a benchmark for safety
for low cost house in Malaysia with regards to the satisfaction level of the
occupants for this building. As the safety aspects become of the issues
that able to be evaluated in POE as highlighted by Zimring et. al (2007),
this research will explore the encountered problems in regards to the
safety aspects in Malaysias low cost housing.

6.3 Housing Design and Fire Safety

Krigger and Higgind (2002), in through their article Time Again For
Public Health Action in American Journal of Public Health Journal, Mei
2002, Vol 92, No 5 mentioned that the most important in designing a
house is to prevent injuries especially with regard to reducing burns and
falls. Attributes of standard housing that increase the risk of injury include
exposed to heat sources. Building design and materials influence the risk
of injury from fire.

The hazard of fire is the consequence of uncontrolled, exothermic

chemical reactions, especially between organic materials and air. It is
particularly associated with combustible material and energy sources used
by people in everyday life. Living standards are highly dependent on the
use of buildings. The extra danger when fires occur in an enclosure, with
the heat and smoke being trapped rather than moving relatively
harmlessly upward, need to set against the intrinsic value of using
buildings. No one cannot eliminate fire hazard, but one can reduce it to an
acceptably low level by suitable design procedures in housing
development.

The most frequent location for fire is within the building where
human activity occurs. Thus, the provision of smoke stop doors is
common in buildings, particularly in multi storey houses such as apartment
and condominium. These doors located near the staircase in every level of

34
 the building. As long as they can be opened when necessary by people
escaping a fire, such doors reduce the risk of death in the event of fire.
However, the doors being propped open most of the time, thus death from
fire are till in the risk. This can be overcome by having such doors held
open and closed only following automatic detection of fire.

6.4 Prevailing Problems of Fire Safety in Housing

6.4.1 Infrastructure of Water Provision

External public hydrants are normally connected to the

infrastructural domestic water piping reticulation. At the onset of
design, water supply pressures would be confirmed by the relevant
Water Works Authority for the particular development be it a
building/housing project or scheme. The water supply pressures
are normally conservative and adequate for the proposed scheme
once approval is obtained.

However, problems do arise after issuance of the Certificate

of Fitness for Occupation (CFO). Improper use of public hydrants
inevitably results in the following scenario:

a) Low water pressure - Low water pressure in hydrants should

theoretically not arise as designers have allowed for
adequate pressure following approval from the relevant
Water Works Authority. Low water pressure may be
attributed to leaking water mains but more often than not it is
due to water pilferage including illegal tap-off from the water
mains. Water pilferage is unfortunately quite rampant be it
under the residential, commercial or industrial categories.
Residential water pilferage tends to be prevalent in illegal

35
 squatter settlements and old housing schemes which have
been overtaken by surrounding developments. Commercial
water pilferage can be found in make-shift hawker centres.
Industrial water pilferage is more often due to either blatant
water thefts or development taking place ahead of
infrastructure planning. Leaking pipework is another cause
for low water pressure at the hydrants. However, compared
with water pilferage, this problem can be easily detected and
rectified.

b) Missing Hydrants - During fire emergency, locating

underground hydrants is far more difficult than locating
aboveground ones. Underground hydrants are subject to
damage as a result of ground condition and soil settlement.
Due to improper installation or non-coordinated road
resurfacing, underground hydrants end up being buried and
become extremely difficult to locate during emergency.

c) Disabled Hydrants - Very often, hydrants are rendered

inoperable due to problems associated with sluice valves
which are subject to failure (corrosion/rust and failure of
gaskets/seals), manufacturing defects (poor quality) and
damage due to ground condition. It is rather common to find
sluice valves that cannot be closed water tight.

d) Abused Hydrants - Abused hydrants are not uncommon,

especially those located within or adjacent car parking bays.
Besides that, hydrant markers for underground hydrants
tend to disappear altogether due to frequent damage by
vehicles.

36
 e) Lack of Testing - In some developments especially single
building projects, water connection cannot be effected by the
Water Works Authority without the mandatory Letter of
Clearance from the fire authority. This Catch 22 situation
does not enable proper pressure testing to be carried out.
Hence, it is possible that some hydrants may remain non-
functional when finally connected. There are also instances
of hydrants left unconnected to the water mains as a result
of this authority red tape.

f) Lack of Standardization of Components - Due to different

manufacturers adopting different design and manufacturing
standards, not all hydrant components are compatible with
each other. For example, instantaneous coupling that is
attached to the hydrant outlet may not accommodate the
male coupling of hydrant hose used by the FRDM. This will
certainly pose a major problem during actual fire fighting.

g) Lack of Maintenance - Hydrants require regular inspection

and maintenance as they are subject to physical damage,
corrosion and changes in water supply condition. Generally,
maintenance of hydrants is lacking. The attempt to transfer
such responsibility to local residents and corporations by
Local Town Councils under the Hydrant Adoption Scheme
has failed miserably. A prudent and sustainable systematic
maintenance programme needs to be devised nationwide.

6.4.2 Maintenance the Infrastructure of Electrical Installations

With reference to FRDMs Statistical Report for all fire

incidents in Malaysia from year 1990 to 2002, electrical fires form a

37
large percentage of the total fire incidents in Malaysia. Most of the
fires occurred after the buildings are in operation for years and are
mainly attributed to poor or non-maintenance.

Electrical installations are tested and certified to be in good

working condition following testing and commissioning procedures
prior handing over to the building owner. Hence the possibility and
incidence of electrical fires in a new building is relatively low.
However, the electrical installations will subsequently deteriorate
due to wear and tear. Performance and safety of electrical
equipment can be maintained if such installations are serviced,
repaired and inspected regularly. In essence, well-maintained
electrical installations will serve to minimise any likelihood of
electrical fires.

Electricity Supply Act 1990, Regulation 110(3) requires an

installation other than domestic installation to be checked and
tested by a competent person at least once in every five years or at
any time as directed by the Director General of Electricity Supply.
Regulation 110(4) requires protective relay and device of an
installation to be checked, tested and calibrated by a competent
person at least once in every two years, or at any time as directed
by the Director General of Electricity Supply.

On top of that, Regulation 67 requires a minimum of one

inspection per month by a competent person for an installation not
exceeding 600 Volts. For installation exceeding 600 Volts but not
exceeding 11,000 Volts, a minimum of two inspections per month
by a competent person is necessary. As for an installation
exceeding 11,000 Volts but not exceeding 132,000 Volts, a
minimum of four inspections per month by a competent person is

38
required. All these regulations provide the basic guidelines for
buildings in Malaysia to maintain and service their electrical
installations routinely so as to ensure safe and proper use thereby
minimizing incidence of electrical fires.

However, some electrical components are not serviceable

and yet play an important role in the overall performance and safety
of the electrical system. These include cable insulation and earthing
system. The Electricity Supply Act 1990 has no provision
mandating routine inspection or testing of cable insulation and
earthing system. Unfortunately, the majority of electrical fires in
residential dwellings is caused by short-circuiting as the result of
poor cable insulation and jointing. Short circuits can be caused by
phase-to-phase, phase-to-neutral or phase-to-earth shorting. Poor
lightning earth can cause lightning discharge through another
medium (instead of via down conductor and earth rod) and can
create a significant damage to the building structure. Cables as well
as earthing system are deemed non-consumable items and as
such are usually not serviced and maintained periodically. As cable
insulation and earthing system deteriorate over time, the possibility
of electrical fire is increased. There is a dire need to establish a
means of checking cable insulation and earthing system to
overcome the increasing incidents of residential fires.

The use of combustible type polycarbonate casing to house

miniature circuit breaker (MCB) in residential application is known
to be a potential source of fire over the years. Such MCB which has
replaced the older wooden fuse box, tend to be located in corners
with stacked furniture and are normally shielded by curtains in most
households. Overloading or short-circuiting will loosen the MCB
cable joint over a period of time, and when the cable insulation

39
 catches fire the casing burns and drips causing secondary fires.
Research is need to be undertaken to determine the benefit of
replacing with metal casing and/or locating such MCB away from
areas likely to encourage accumulation of combustible materials.

7. REVIEW OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS

7.1 Uniform Building By Law 1986

The existing By Laws governing fire safety in buildings are the

Uniform Building By Law, 1986 under the Street, Drainage and Building
Act, 1974. In Sarawak however the state used the Sarawak Building
Ordinance 1994. Uniform Building By Law 1986 (UBBL) is a law regulate
by every state, exercise by local authorities. Every state has their own
UBBL gazette but in line with standard UBBL that had been drawn by
federal government in exercise of the powers conferred by section 133 of
Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 (Act 133). Malaysian Uniform
Building By Law is set up base on British Standard Specification. This by
law set a standard building regulation for the whole of Malaysia and
applicable to all local authorities and building professionals. It also intends
to regulate architectural, structural, health and safety, fire protection
capabilities and constructional requirement of buildings; with clear
references to the approved standards.

The various requirements in the design and construction of

buildings are prescribed in nine parts as follows:

a) Part I: Preliminary
b) Part II: Submission of plans for approval
c) Part III: Space, light and ventilation
d) Part IV: Temporary works in connection with Building Operations
e) Part V: Structural requirements
f) Part VI: Constructional requirements

40
g) Part VII: Fire Requirements
h) Part VIII: Fire Alarm, Fire Detection, Fire Extinguishment and Fire
Fighting Access
i) Part IX: Miscellaneous

In addition, there is also a total of ten schedules listing the details of

design requirements. However, only the following schedules relate to fire
safety:

a) Fifth Schedule: Designation of Purpose Group

b) Seventh Schedule: Maximum Travel Distances
c) Eight Schedule: Classification of Flame Spread
d) Ninth Schedule: Limits of Compartmentation
e) Tenth Schedule: Requirements for Fire Fighting Systems

However, all these By Laws and regulations listed above deal only
with the design and construction of a building before the Certificate of
Fitness for Occupation (CFO) is issued. Once the CFO is issued, the local
authority, including the FRDM has little power under these sets of laws
and regulations to continue to enforce measures to be taken for the safety
of the occupants.

7.1.1 Air Quality in the Uniform Building By Law 1986

There is not much regulation requirement related to air

quality stated in the Uniform Building By Law. However, section 39
of the By Law did touch about air ventilation as extracted below:

(1) Every room design, adapted or used for residential shall be

provided natural ventilation by means one or more windows
having a total area of not less than 10% of the clear floor

41
 area of such rooms and shall have opening capable of
allowing a free uninterrupted passage of air not less than
5% of such floor area.

(2) Every water closet, latrine, urinal or bathroom shall be

provided with natural ventilation by means of one or more
openings having total area of not less than 0.2 square meter
per water closet, urinal latrine or bathroom and such
openings shall be capable of allowing a free uninterrupted
passage of air.

Another section related is section 40. This section did touch

about size of air well of the buildings as extracted below:

(ii) For buildings up to 2 storeys in height, 7 square meters;

(iii) For buildings up to 4 storeys in height, 9 square meters;
(iv) For buildings up to 6 storeys in height, 11 square meters;
(v) For buildings up to 8 storeys in height, 13 square meters;
(vi) For buildings more than 8 storeys in height, 15 square
meters;

7.1.2 Fire Safety in the Uniform Building By Law 1986

Together with Parts VII and VIII, these schedules determine

all essential aspects of fire safety systems in buildings. Along with
the codes and standards referred to in the By Laws, the standard of
fire safety in this country is comparable to that of any developed
nation and is thus deemed adequate to ensure public life safety.

In terms of electrical installations relating to fire safety, the

following specific By Laws are applicable:

42
a) By Law 39 specifies the requirements for natural lighting and
ventilation.
b) By Law 154 specifies the requirements for emergency mode of
operation in the event of mains power failure.
c) By Law 155 specifies the requirements for fire mode of operation.
d) By Law 239 specifies the requirements for both fire brigade
communication system and public address system.
e) By Law 240 specifies the requirements for fireman/electrical
isolation switch.
f) By law 253 specifies the requirements for emergency power
systems for lighting, fire detection and fire fighting system.

As referred to part VII Fire Requirement under the Uniform

Building By Law 1986, all the technical aspects of fire requirement
of building to assure fire safety has been described in detail
included:

(i) Fire appliance access - All building excess of 7000 cubic

meters shall abut upon a street or road of open space not
less than 12 meters width and accessible to fire brigade
appliances need to follow certain proportion as describe in
section 141 of the By Law.

(ii) External wall - If any external wall is carried across the end
of separating wall, external wall and separating wall shall be
bonded together or the junction of such walls shall be fire
stopped.

43
(iii) Fire stops - Any fire stop formed as a seal at the junction of
two or more elements of a structure shall be made by
noncombustible material.

From Section 134 to section 225 of part VII of the By Law

explained about fire requirement in construction of building
including houses. Part VIII, from section 226 to section 254 of the
By Law detailed out the regulation about fire alarm, fire detection,
fire extinguishment and fire fighting access of the building. Part VIII
is more related to multi storey houses such as condominium and
service apartment. Upon completing all the fire safety requirements
and final test have been carried out, The Fire and Rescue
Department will do an inspection and issue a certificate.

The Ninth Schedule of this By Law described the limits of

compartment and minimum periods of fire resistance for elements
of structure for other than single storey buildings. Figure 10 shows
extract from the schedule focusing on type of housing.

44
Figure 10: Limits of Compartment And Minimum Periods Of Fire Resistance For Element Of
Structure for Houses Other Than Single Storey Buildings.

7.2 Fire Services Act 1988 (Act 341)

With the appreciation of the importance of proper usage and

maintenance of approved premises so as to ensure continuous fire safety,
the Fire Services Act was enacted in 1988. Generally, this act covers the
power and authority of Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia related to
fire safety of the buildings including compounding of offences and penalty.
This act has been amended twice in 1991 and 1994 in order to fulfill
current needs for fire safety.

45
 There are eight parts of this Act, namely:

a. Part I: Administration
b. Part II: Abatement of Fire Hazard
c. Part III: Water and Fire Hydrants
d. Part IV: Fire Certificates
e. Part V: Enforcement
f. Part VI: Enquiries into Fires
g. Part VII: Welfare Fund
h. Part VIII: Miscellaneous

Of the eight parts, the section with the most impact to building
owners and managers are Parts II, IV and V. Under Part IV, a building
once classified as designated premises will be required to obtain a Fire
Certificate for it to be occupied. This Fire Certificate is issued by the
FRDM and shall be renewed annually upon inspection by the Fire
Authority to verify that the building is safe from fire hazards. With this Act
in place, the FRDM will be able to monitor and control the way the
buildings are managed and operated and most important of all, ensure
that fire safety equipment do not fall into a state of disrepair as has
happened so often in the past.

7.3 Fire Services (Fire Certificate) Regulations 2001

A follow up regulation was introduced in 2001 under the Fire

Services (Fire Certificate) Regulations 2001 to clearly spell out the
responsibility and liability of owners of designated premises. Following an
extensive nationwide road show, this regulation came into effect on 1st
August 2002. However, the effectiveness of this regulation and the

46
 intended improvement to the affected premises can only be measured or
collated over the next few years.

7.4 National Fire Protection Association Codes and Standards

Disasters can occur anywhere, and they often occur when we least
expect them. NFPA codes and standards are there to provide the authority
with ways to prevent their occurrence, manage their impact, and to protect
the life. There are currently more than 300 consensus codes and
standards intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other
risks. Virtually every building, process, service, design, and installation in
society today is affected by NFPA documents. The codes and standards,
administered by more than 250 Technical Commitees comprising
approximately 8,000 volunteers, are adopted and used throughout the
world including Malaysia.

The NFPA Standards Council oversees the Association's codes

and standards development activities, administers the rules and
regulations, and acts as an appeals body. The standards development
process is open and consensus-based process. That means anybody can
participate and expect fair and equal treatment. This is because safety is
everybodys business.

7.5 Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality 2005

This code of practice has been drawn up by Department of

Occupational Safety And Health, under the Ministry of Human Resources
Malaysia to ensure that employees and other occupants are protected
from poor indoor air quality that could adversely affect their health and well
being, and thereby reduce their productivity.

47
 Employers are encouraged to use this code of practice as a guide
to comply with the general duties of employers prescribed under section
15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Act 514). Even though
compliance with this code is not mandatory at the moment, it can be used
as evidence of good practice in a court of law.

Although this Code of Practice only apply to all non-industrial

places of work in industries listed under Schedule 1 of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act 1994 (Act 514) which, not including the housing
scheme, it is a good guideline to assess the air quality in housing building
such as high rise and low rise housing.

There are six parts of this Code, namely:

a. Introduction
b. Assessment of indoor air quality
c. Control of indoor air quality
d. Complaints and investigations
e. Information, instruction and training
f. Record keeping

8 DATA AND ANALYSIS

8.1 Air Quality Cases in Malaysia

Base on our research and review, there are no specific report

cases on Air Quality related to houses in Malaysia. However, there are
few Sick Building Syndrome cases reported affected government building
due to fungal infection as described below.

8.1.1 Fungal Problem In Malacca Malaysian Anti Corruption

Commission (MACC)

48
 Malacca MACC Office is located in Alai, Malacca was opened on
30th March 2011. However on early March 2012, fungal problem
was detected on that building. The fungal can be clearly seen and
the wall all over the building. Beside the fungal problem, there was
also a problem of water sluggish in certain area. It was reported
that this problem happened probably because of the location of the
building that very close to the sea that increase the humidity.

Minister of Works during that time informed that the appointed

consultant and Ministry of Work will work together to solve the
problems. The cost involved was estimated around 23.4 Million. It
was a big amount of money that can be saved out if the air quality
of the building was studied at the beginning phase of the
development. Figure 11 and Figure 12 shows the Malacca MACC
building and the fungal problem.

Figure 11: Main Building of Malacca MACC Office

Figure 12: Fungal problem on the wall at Malacca MACC Office

49
8.1.2 Fungal Infection in Sultan Ismail Specialist Hospital, Johor
Bahru

Sultan Ismail Specialist Hospital is located in Taman Austin

Perdana, Johor Bahru. The Hospital is named in honor of Sultan
Ismail of Johor. In July 2004, part of the hospital was opened but it
closed down two months later due to the fungal infection detected
in the hospital. It was than reopened in February 2006 after the
fungal infection has been treated. However in April 2007, structural
defects were found on the roof part. This situation has given the
negative impact to the government institution especially to the
health sector.

Figure 13: Sultan Ismail Specialist Hospital, Johor Bahru

8.1.3 Fungal Attack at Public Service Department , Cyberjaya

A few sections in block A, MKN-Embassy TechZone, Public

Service Department (popular known as JPA) in Cyberjaya has been
attacked by yellowish green fungal spores around September 2011.
Internal Audit Section, Pensioner Section, Psychology Management
Section and Information Management Section are among the
effected sections.

50
 That fungal spreads all over the floors and walls.
Consequently, all the staffs involved have been instructed to work
from home and not allow to come to the office due to health safety
reason until the infection has been treated. This situation have
effect the department performance especially to those section
which involved in dealing with external client and public.

Figure 14: Public Service Department, Cyberjaya

8.2 Fire Safety Cases in Malaysia

The data from the Statistic Department Malaysia, suggests that in

the year ending 30th December 2012, Fire and Rescue Department
Malaysia attended a total of 29,848 fires alarms within the Malaysia
(State/District Social Statistic, 2003). Of these, 5,447 were accidental
dwelling fires. The details for fire breakouts in every state as Table 1
below.

51
 Machi- Plantati
Building nery & Petrol on/
State Total and its Vehicles other and Gas jungle/ Stalls Others
content equip- chemical weed/
ment bush
Malaysia 29,848 5,447 3,120 1,332 19 692 10,222 142 8,874
Johor 3,600 523 446 273 2 134 1,337 14 871
Kedah 1,889 397 174 64 1 47 541 12 653
Kelantan 705 184 92 42 - 30 96 - 261
Melaka 1,222 233 133 48 - 21 468 7 311
Negeri
Sembilan
1,385 267 185 50 - 27 432 5 419
Pahang 1,272 218 201 64 2 38 444 6 2999
Perak 3,444 264 313 180 - 64 1,398 9 1,216
Perlis 228 34 16 13 - 14 53 5 93
Pulau
Pinang
1,757 358 239 134 1 88 332 9 596
Sabah 1,516 471 93 40 4 30 710 9 159
Sarawak 1,853 399 138 68 4 39 887 5 313
Selangor 8,003 1,262 722 260 4 116 2,834 33 2,772
Terengganu 971 184 72 56 1 25 368 4 241
W.P. Kuala
Lumpur
1,743 625 277 18 - 10 165 23 625
W.P.
Labuan
179 25 7 5 - - 118 1 23
W.P.
Putrajaya
81 3 12 17 - 9 18 - 22
Table 1: Number of fire breakout by state and type of fire breakouts, Malaysia 2012
Source: Fire And Rescue Department, Malaysia

From Table 1, the highest number of fire breakout in building and

its content happened in Selangor as 8,003 cases reported and the lowest
number occurred in Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya as only 81 cases
reported in 2012.

52
Table 2: Number of casualties in fire breakouts by state, Malaysia 2008-2012

In Table 2, it shows that, during the period 2008 to 2012, the

number of deaths and injuries due to fires that occur highest in 2012,
amounting to 250 cases. A total of 98 cases of injuries and 152 deaths
immediately on the scene reported.

Table 3: Statistics on fire breakouts, Malaysia, 2008 - 2012

53
Based on Table 3 above, in the year 2012, a total of 29,848 fire cases has been
reported involving 98 instant deaths on the scene while 152 cases involving
injury. Overall estimated loss from the fire breakouts in that year was
RM1,116.15 million.

Table 4: Number of fire breakouts by type, Malaysia, 2008 - 2012

In Table 4, it illustrated that from total 29,848 fire breakouts cases

in 2012, 5,447 cases involved the buildings and its contents. It is the third
biggest amount after fire due to plantation/ jungle/ weeds/ bush (10,222)
and others (8,874)

54
 Table 5: The number of fire breakout by source, 2008-2012

From Table 5 above, there were several sources of fire breakout. In

year 2012, among the highest sources were arson (6,663 cases),
electricity (5,382 cases), unknown source (2,026 cases), incendiary arson
(1,658 cases) gas stove/kerosene (1,410 cases) and others (7,357 cases).

55
 Table 6: Number of fire breakout in building by type of building, 2008-2012

In Table 6, from total 5,447 fire breakout cases in 2012, 2,919

cases involved housing unit/flat and 79 cases involved squatters. The
number of fire cases involving housing unit/flat were so high since 2008.
Throughout the country, 1775 cases reported in 2008, 2,712 cases in
2009, 2,918 cases in 2010 and 2,994 cases in 2011.

9 FINDINGS

9.1 Air Quality

There are not much evidence in air quality incidence related to

housing development has been reported in Malaysia. It is difficult to find
any cases and data related to air quality incidence even in broader
spectrum such in building development. From our opinion, this is due to
lack of awareness among the society and government do not put the air

56
 quality requirement in housing development as a priority. Most cases
reported especially related to poor air quality in buildings have been solve
base on case basis and not from the root cause of the problems itself.
Currently there is no widely applicable procedure for evaluating the air
quality in housing development especially the IAQ.

Most cases as reported above in section 4.1, were mainly related to

government building that became a public concern. When it come to
private project/ building, there are not much cases reported and we do
believe that there are cases happened but has been solve internally.

Generally, unlike fire, building air pollutant does not cause death.
Building air pollutant usually only make people feel sick such headache,
wheezing, tiredness, coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath. This
might be one of the reason why there is not much attention has been put
to housing air quality.

There are no specific departments or agencies have been

appointed to take responsibilities to monitor or to take action related air
quality in housing development. Unlike developed country such as United
State of America, there are few agencies really focusing in this sector
such as EPA, OSHA and HUD even though these agencies do not cover
all aspect of in housing air quality.

9.2 Fire Safety

Base on chapter 8.2 above, we can see that electrical fires form a
large percentage of the total fire incidents in Malaysia. Most of the fires
occurred after the buildings are in operation for years and are mainly
attributed to poor or non-maintenance. It can be said that all new buildings
issued with CFO are safe and adequately protected from fire.

57
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the buildings after the
occupants have moved in and started using the building. Renovation
works covering interior decoration, partitioning and alterations are
frequently carried out with scant regard for fire safety as priority.

The highest number of fire breakout in building and its content

happened in Selangor and the lowest number occurred in Wilayah
Persekutuan Putrajaya as reported in 2012. This is due to the
characteristic of the state itself. Selangor is a big state with a big
population staying in rural and urban area. Some living areas are not well
planned and this increase the fire risk. Unlike Putrajaya, which is a new
town concept with less population and is a well developed area with latest
and modern design building. Hence, fire safety has take into consideration
during the development stage.

The number of fire cases involving housing unit/flat were so high

since 2008. This is due to difficulties to Fire and Rescue department to
access the affected dwelling unit because of the height of the building
(with referred to flat cases). Most hydrants located in housing unit are not
well maintained and exposed to vandalism. Thus, these hydrants are not
functioning well when needed.

Unlike air quality, fire safety is being priorities by the society

because of the impact to the life. Fire can cause death and permanent
disabilities. We can see cases related to fire cases has been reported
almost every day in several of media to increase public concern toward
fire safety.

We believe that all buildings should be designed and provided with

the appropriate level of safety measure in accordance with engineering
and legislative requirements and thereafter be continuously maintained.

58
10 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

10.1 Air Quality

Malaysia has good environmental laws to protect the outdoor

environment and public health. However, there are no laws governing
indoor air quality (IAQ) and the knowledge among the public about its
importance is also lacking.

Its a high time for the Government of Malaysia need to develop a

comprehensive act and guideline related to air quality requirement in
housing development. We would like to suggest that National Housing
Department, Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government
will be the department in charged to facilitate in developing the related
guideline and act.

What is much needed at this time is the establishment of standards

for the conduct of risk assessment studies. The Malaysian experience with
the various haze episodes, has spurred the health authorities and other
relevant agencies such as non-governmental organisations and
universities in the country to put in place the necessary infrastructure to
deal with adverse health effects arising from these environmental
disasters. This and other such initiatives has created awareness among
the public on the relevance of air pollutants to ill health thereby increasing
the public concern for mitigating and adaptation measures to be put in
place.

However building related illnesses has still not gained the same
prominence as those related to outdoor air quality. As such, Malaysia
definitely needs to identify and highlight the importance of the impact of
indoor air quality (IAQ) on health. It is important to establish standards,
conduct risk assessments, establish mitigation and adaptation

59
 programmes as it is believed that residents in urban areas spend 90% of
their time indoor. For such a programme to be implemented effectively, we
should have our own guidelines.

In the absence of widely accepted definition criteria or consistent

guideline of indoor air quality, that concept of healthy building is still
evolving. Several IAQ design guidance and evaluation tools are in
development to advance the state of practice in developed country.
Trends in public perception, litigation, current regulations, and new
building materials and system propose new challenges to provide good
IAQ. Building ventilation is a good measure being linked to not only health
and thermal comfort but also productivity.

10.2 Fire Safety

Presently, in Malaysia there are sufficient Acts in place for the

purpose of ensuring fire safety in buildings. The regulations for fire safety
in the design and construction of buildings are adequate and present
enforcement by the FRDM already ensures that buildings are properly
designed and constructed for fire safety. However, once the building is
issued with Certificate of Fitness for Occupation, a different situation
occurs. Fire safety equipments are seldom properly maintained or tested
and have been known to fail to operate in the event of fire. This notorious
maintenance culture of the Malaysian society must be addressed and it is
hoped that the Fire Certificate regulations will be effectively enforced to
achieve its objectives.

The assistance of related industry players is vital to realize this

goal. These industry players include the designers (engineers and
architects), the installers (contractors and vendors), the servicing and
maintenance contractors, the operators, the insurance industry and the

60
owners. The next set of challenge to the industry is the advent of Fire
Engineering Performance Based Designs. International Standards on
this subject are being developed and finalized (emanating from various
existing guidelines) as the design aspects represent a dynamic and
constantly evolving process. Although Malaysia is already well exposed to
Performance Based Designs with a number of buildings approved based
on such principles, the inadequacy of local experts needs to be
addressed.

An oft-asked question is the sustainability of premises approved on

performance based designs which render them inflexible for alterations.
With the acknowledgement of the poor maintenance culture locally, such
tendency of premises being inadvertently converted into fire hazards are
very real. The need to address such default at annual Fire Certificate
application stage must be well understood and properly enforced with the
support and backing of the entire fire industry. As an example, there
should be a concerted effort by the authorities to work with the insurance
industry to provide incentives such as further reduction in insurance
premiums for buildings with Fire Certificates.

The insurance industry should be urged to work closely with the fire
authority and industry to review their onerous and outdated technical
requirements. Any technical requirement should be consistent with local
practice, By Laws and national policies. Hence, technical requirements
stipulated by the international insurance body should be reviewed and
localized for meaningful application.

61
11 LIST OF REFERENCES

Ahmad, R., Nur Azfahani, A. and Nur Haniza, I. (2006). The Effects of Design on The
Maintenance of Public Housing Buildings In Malaysia Part One. Articles of
Building Engineer (ABE) International.

Aminu Garba Waziri. (2012). Towards Fire Safety And Security In Grills Housing: A
Review Of Approach.

Anderson ME, Bogdan GM. (2007). Environments, indoor air quality, and children.
Pediatric Clinic Journal.

Barbara A. Morrongiello , Rebecka Widdifield, Kimberly Munroe & Daniel Zdzieborski.

(2014). Parents Teaching Young Children Home Safety Rules: Implications for
Childhood Injury Risk.

Berardil B. M., Leoni E., Marchesini B., Cascella D., and Raffil G.B. (1991). Indoor
climate and air quality in new offices: effects of a reduced air-exchange rate.
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health 63.

Bernama (2011). Beberapa Bahagian JPA Di Cyberjaya Beroperasi di Putajaya

Berikutan Serangan Kulat (online)
www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/bm/news_lite.php?id=613025 (8 December
2014).

Bernama (2005). Kementerian Kerja Raya Lantik Pakar Urus Kemudahan Hospital
(online) www.bernama.com/bernama/bm/news.php?id=152605&cat=ut (8
December 2014).

British Centre for Disease Control Pamphlet (2010), HealthlinkBC, British Columbia.

Butry, D.T.(2008) . Economic performance of residential fire sprinkler systems. Fire

Technology 45 (1).

62
Butry, D.T., Brown, M.H., Fuller, S.K.( 2007). Benefit-Cost Analysis of Residential Fire
Sprinkler Systems. NISTIR 7451, National Institute of Standards and
Technology, Gaithersburg.

Chen Thiam Leong, Norhisham Mohd, Yusouf Ahmad, Lee Kok Chong, Gary Lim Eng
Hwa, Leong Siew Meng, Chee Soo Teng & K. Blasubramaniam. (2006).Position
Paper on Safety Against Fire in Building. The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia.

Chong Won Kim, Tim T., Phipps B. & Luc Anselinc. (2003). Measuring the Benefits of
Air Quality Improvement: A Spatial Hedonic Approach.

Committee on Air Quality Management in the United States. (2004). Air Quality
Management in the United States.

D. Rasbash, G. Ramachandran, B. Kandola, J. Watts & M. Law. (2004). Evaluation of

Fire Safety.

David Harrison Jr. & Daniel L. Rubinfeld. (1978). Hedonic Housing Prices and the
Demand for Clean Air.

David Ormandy & Veronique Ezratty. (2012). Health and Thermal Comfort: From WHO
Guidance to Housing Strategies.

David T. Butry. (2012). Comparing the Performance of Residential Fire Sprinklers with
Other Life-Safety Technologies.

Department for Communities and Local Government (2007). Approved Document B,

Volume 1 Dwellinghouses. 2006 Edition.RIBA, London.

63
Department of Health. (2003). Tackling Health Inequalities. A Programme for Action.
Department of Health, London.

Department of Occupational Safety and Health. (2005). Code of Practice on Indoor Air
Quality. Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia.

Diguiseppi C, Higgins JPT. (2000). Systematic Review Of Controlled Trials Of

Interventions To Promote Smoke Alarms. Arch Disease Childhood.

Goodsman RW, Mason F, Blythe A. (1987). Housing Factors And Fires In Two
Metropolitan Boroughs. Fire Safety Journal.

Gorman RL, Charney E, Holtzman NA, Roberts K. A. (1985). Successful City-Wide

Smoke Detector Giveaway Program. Pediatrics.

H.N. Husin, A.H. Nawawi, F. Ismail & N. Khalil. (2011). Development of Hierarchy for
Safety Elements and Its Attributes for Malaysias Low Cost Housing. Elsevier Ltd.

Hall, J.R., Harwood, B. (1989) . The National Estimates Approach To U.S. Fire
Statistics. Fire Technology 2.

Harmathy, T.Z. (1988). On The Economics Of Mandatory Sprinklering Of Dwellings. Fire

Technology 3.

Holborn PG, Nolan PF, Golt J. (2003). An analysis of fatal unintentional dwelling fires
investigated by London Fire Brigade between 1996 and 2000. Fire Safety
Journal.

Habib RR, Mahfoud Z, Fawaz M, Basma SH, Yeretzian JS. (2009) Housing quality and
ill health in a disadvantaged urban community. Public Health 2009.

64
Heimplaetzer, P.V., Goossens, L.H.J. (1991). Risks and accidents in the built
environment. Safety Science Journal Vol 14.

Hilary McDermott, Roger Haslam & Alistair Gibb. (2010). Occupant Interactions with
Self-Closing Fire Doors in Private Dwellings. Elsevier Ltd

Hilary McDermotta, Roger Haslam & Alistair Gibb. (2007). The Interaction between
Design and Occupier Behaviour in the Safety Of New Homes. Elsevier Ltd

Husrul Nizam Husina, Abdul Hadi Nawawi, Faridah Ismail & Natasha Khalila. (2011).
Preliminary Survey of Integrated Safety Elements into Post Occupancy
Evaluation for Malaysias Low Cost Housing. Bandung.

Husrul Nizam Husina, Abdul Hadi Nawawib, Faridah Ismailb & Natasha Khalilc. (2012).
Safety Performance Assessment Scheme for Low Cost Housing: A Comparative
Study. Hong Kong.

Ismail, E. (2003). Achieving Quality in Housing Construction Through Standardisation.

Proceedings of 2nd Asian Forum Conference,Tokyo, 20 23 January 2003.

Irwin K. (1997). Domestic Fire Hazard In New Zealand. Fire Engineering Research
Report No. 97/5. Christchurch: University Of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia (2013)Perangkaan Sosial Negeri / Daerah Malaysia.

2013. (online)
http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/download_Labour/download.php?file=PSND/P
erangkaan_Sosial_Negeri-Daerah_Malaysai2013.pdf

65
Jacobs DE, Kelly T, Sobolewski J. (2007). Linking public health, housing, and indoor
environmental policy: successes and challenges at local and federal agencies in
the United States. Environ Health Perspective.

James Krieger & Donna L. Higgins. (2002). Housing and Health: Time Again for Public
Health Action.

Jerome Nriagu, Pamela Smith & Deborah Socier. (2011). A Rating Scale for Housing-
Based Health Hazards. Science of the Total Environment. Elsevier B.V.

John D. Spengler, Jonathan M. Samet, John F. Mccarthy. (2000). Indoor Air Quality
Handbook, McGraw-Hill.

Juas, B., Mattson, B. (1994). Economics Of Fire Technology. Fire Technology 4

Kenneth Y. Chay & Michael Greenstone. (2005). Does Air Quality Matter? Evidence
from the Housing Market.

Krieger J, Higgins DL. (2002). Housing And Health: Time Again For Public Health
Action. Am J Public Health.

Luc Anselin & Nancy Lozano-Gracia. (2007). Errors in Variables and Spatial Effects in
Hedonic House Price Models of Ambient Air Quality.

Lynne Warda, Milton Tenenbein & Michael E K Moffatt. (1999).House Fire Injury
Prevention Update. Part II. A Review Of The Effectiveness Of Preventive
Interventions.

Madrzykowski, D., Fleming, R.P. (2008). Residential sprinkler systems. Fire Protection
Handbook, 20th ed. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy,

66
Mavis Duncanson, Alistair Woodward & Papaarangi Reid. (2002). Socioeconomic
Deprivation And Fatal Unintentional Domestic Fire Incidents in New Zealand
19931998.

Meek, S.L (1991) Health Issues in Indoor Air Quality in Homes: Synthesising the Issues
and Educating Consumers. American Association of Housing Educators and
Building Research Council, Small Home Council, University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign.

Meor Riduwan Meor Ahmad (2012) Bangunan SPRM Melaka Selamat (online). My
Metro. www.hmetro.com.m/mymetro/BangunanSPRMMelakaselamat/article (8
December 2014)

Ministry of Consumer Affairs.(1998). Disposable cigarette lighter safety: ministerial

investigation into the need for a product safety standard. Wellington. Ministry of
Consumer Affairs United Kingdom.

Mohammad A. Hassanain. (2008). Fire Safety in the Design and Operation of Student
Housing Facilities.

New York State Senate Research Service. (2000) .Preliminary legislative highlights: a
summary of major actions by the legislature as of July 14. New York State
Senate.

New Zealand Parliament. Cigarette (Fire Safety) Bill 2000.

Niren L. Nagda. (1993). Modeling of Indoor Air Quality and Exposure.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, (2006). The Economic Cost of Fire: Estimates for
2004. ODPM, London.

67
Pickett, J.W.(2003) . Report on the finger-trapping hazard created by fire doors installed
in two types of three story houses. Report Prepared on Behalf of The Royal
Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). RoSPA, Birmingham.

Robert E Dales, David Miller & Ed McMullen. (1997). Indoor Air Quality and Health:
Validity and Determinants of Reported Home Dampness and Moulds.

Roberts I. (1997). Cause specific social class mortality differentials for child injury and
poisoning in England and Wales. J Epidemiol Community Health.

Ruegg, R.T., Fuller, S.K. (1984) . A Benefit-Cost Model Of Residential Fire Sprinkler
Systems.

Runyan CW, Bangdiwala SI, Linzer MA, Sacks JJ, Butts J. (1992) Risk factors for fatal
residential fires. New England J Med.

S.C. Tsui & W.K. Chow. (2004). Legislation Aspects of Fire Safety Management in
Hong Kong.

Sarka Langer & Gabriel Bek. (2013). Indoor Air Quality in the Swedish Housing Stock
and Its Dependence on Building Characteristics.

S.Rajasekar, P.Philominathan & V. Chinnathambi ( 2006), Research Method. Cornell

University Library

Schieber RA, Gilchrist J, Sleet DA. (2000). Legislative And Regulatory Strategies To
Reduce Childhood Unintentional Injuries. Future Children.

Shen-Wen Chien & Guan-Yuan Wu. (2008). The Strategies of Fire Prevention on
Residential Fire in Taipei.

68
Spengler, J.D. & Chen, Q. (2000). Indoor Air Quality Factors In Designing A Healthy
Building.

Staffan Hygge. (1989). Smoke Detectors in Apartments and One-Family Houses: Fire
Risk, Property Loss and the Presence of Smoke Detectors.

State of Pahang (1996).Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974, Phg P.U 4/1996,
Uniform Building By law 1996.

Sufian, A. and Mohamad, N. A. (2009). Squatters And Affordable Houses In Urban

Areas: Law And Policy In Malaysia. Theoretical and Empirical Researches in
Urban Management. Vol. 4 (13).

Sufian, A. and Ab. Rahman, R. (2008). Quality Housing: Regulatory and Administrative
Framework in Malaysia. International Journal of Economics and Management,
Vol. 2 (1).

The Commissioner of Law Revision Malaysia. (2009). Fire Service Act 1988 (Act 341),
Law of Malaysia.

Thomson H, Thomas S, Sellstrom E, Petticrew M. (2009) The health impacts of housing

improvement: a systematic review of intervention studies from 1887 to 2007. Am
J Public Health.

US EPA (1993). EPAs Approach & Progress in Targeting Indoor Air Pollution.US.

US Hud. (1999). The Healthy Homes Initiative: A Preliminary Plan. Report To Congress.
Office Of Lead Hazard Control.

Vischer, J. (2002). Post Occupancy Evaluation: A Multifaced Tool for Building

Improvement. Federal Facilities Council. US: The National Academy Press (in
Chapter 3)

69
Yang Yan. (2013). Tactics for Fire Prevention and Control in Three in One Work
Houses. Kunming Fire Control Command School, Kunming, Yunnan Chnia

Zimring, C., Rashid, M. and Kampschroer, K. (2007). Facility Performance Evaluation

(FPE). Whole design building guide (WDGS)

70