KUALA LUMPUR — Houses with less than 20% damage sustained from the Putra Heights gas pipeline fire are safe for occupancy, the Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) said.
Director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said this was based on inspections conducted which found that the homes had minor damage such as broken windows and heat minor damage to the roof and ceiling.
These homes that can be reoccupied are located over 150 metres from the incident site, Bernama qupted him saying.
“With the approval of the State Disaster Management Committee, we allow occupants to re-enter homes with minor or no damage.
“However, houses with major damage are not suitable for entry unless further assessment of the structural integrity and repairs are carried out,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
For those reoccupying their houses with minor damage, Nor Hisham said there is no need to obtain a new Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC).
The certificate will required from the local authority only if there are major changes made to the house structure, such as new extensions.
Safety assessment of homes was carried out by JBPM with the Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ), Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and an electrical wiring contractor.
Nor Hisham said visual inspection of the fire-damaged house units involved the surface of the building structure, walls, floors, roofs and building frames apart from the electrical wiring.
Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari earlier announced that 85 houses on Jalan Putra Harmoni were confirmed safe and residents were allowed to return to their homes in stages starting the night before, while water and electricity supplies had been restored to the liveable houses.
The Petronas gas pipeline fire at 8.10 am on Tuesday (April 1) saw a fireball rising to a column of over 30 metres high with searing temperatures reaching 1,000 degrees Celsius.
It took nearly eight hours to be completely extinguished at 3.45 pm.
It displaced 1,254 people from 308 families, and completely destroyed 87 houses. 148 houses are damaged but habitable
Police are investigating the incident for mischief and negligence, having confirmed that excavation work was done near the site to replace sewage pipes, and have taken statements from over 50 people since the incident. – April 5, 2025