Four in a family killed in USJ2 fire

[zinglicious]

Not sure how you derrive to such assertion ??

In Japan and most countries in Europe, the electrical plug are the 2 pins type, there is no earth wire in the entire house.

I guess people in Japan and Europe must be constantly exposed to fire risk !!

The fire broke out at the living hall which has a large volume & was very intensed. All the victims were trapped upstair. The fire service department suspected it was caused by electrical wiring short circuit. However relatives of the decease had refuted saying that the house was recently renovated & the wirings had been replaced.
Just as words of precaution, other possibilities could be due to power extension cord , appliances such as Home AV equipment & computer were not switched off at the wall socket over the night. The end socket of the power cord could be defective. The home appliances could have internal insulation breakdown or overheating which can cause burning. They are not protected by earth wire which will facilitate power tripping although their plugs are with earth pin. If these items are placed on combustible surface or very close to combustible materials, the risk is there. Therefore it is advisable to switch off every appliances at the wall socket before going to bed except essential equipment such as refrigerator.
The other risk is charging hand phone overnight & placed them on combustible surface such as wooden table, shelf or sofa. It is always our fear that the battery may explode during charging. It should be placed on hard & non combustible surface such as glass, floor mable or tiles if you need to charge overnight.

( this has been copied from my facebook and paste here ).

BtW, this guy is a decent retired real estate agent, It is sad that he had suffered such accidental fate.

how on earth I dun knowlah I just copied and pasted from my faceboook not written by me as I am just a tweet messenger.
But I had a shocking experience once n Malaysia where I half pengsan....while the one I had in USA was like ant bite. Probably MY voltage difference of 240V and USA is 120V?

Cooking is done by me while wiring is done accordingly to my friendly professional electrical consultant handyman instruction who happened to be a Downunder certified mechanical engineer. He is the zero zero 7 in construction , gas pipping and drilling. He is also a foodie expert in food testing and tasting. And in my Subang kitchen, I had 2 ELC board as recommended by him. Even with 13 ovens, 5 fridges and 5 eletric burners never had a shocking or blackout experience even though my equipment were short circuit many times tdue to wate and fire elements. If I see him again, probably I can copied and pasted his comment. This guy do contract from high rise to sea drilling too in hand to hand projects. A professional handyman.

[opulant]

how on earth I dun knowlah I just copied and pasted from my faceboook not written by me as I am just a tweet messenger....

Since your signature in this forum is : Trust, Attitude, Skill, Knowledge - Signatures of those who believe in excellence for any task entrusted to them - Alwin Tan @ all rights reserved


Maybe is good you post and share what you know... instead of copy and paste things that you don't know.

[Chia Hak Soon]

This sad for the family, may they rest in peace

[opulant]

Let this be a lesson and warning to many households in Malaysia who,due to the security situation have multiple locks on all doors.In case of an emergency like a fire it is not easy to locate the keys and unlock so many locks.A case in point is my in laws condo in PJ which has 2 pad locks in the front grill door. I find it a real hassle even under normal circumstances to unlock the door and I do not even want to think of what will happen when there is an emergency.....

Yes, I also couldn't understand why people need multiple padlocks in gated and guarded condo ??

I live in a high-rise condo too. I lock the wooden main door and the front grill, there is no padlock.

Initially, I did not install the front grill when I moved in about 11 years ago. The entrance foyer outside the wooden main door is quite a large area even after a shoe cabinet is custom-made there. I decided to expand the cabinet to a shoe cum misc. storage cabinet to keep items like bicycle pump, vacuum cleaner, etc. As such, I see the need to have a front grill as they are cleaners or auxiliary workers working in the condo.

I don't need to install burglary alarm, CCTV or any other anti-theft gadgets which are standard items in landed property. Maybe I am lucky or maybe is the place I live, so far so good.

[Naka]

Yes, I also couldn't understand why people need multiple padlocks in condo ??

I live in a high-rise condo too. I lock the wooden main door and the front grill, there is no padlock.

Actually, I did not install the front grill when I moved in about 11 years ago. The entrance foyer in front of the wooden main door is quite a large area even after a shoe cabinet is custom-made there. I decided to expand the cabinet to a shoe cum misc. storage cabinet to keep items like bicycle pump, vacuum cleaner, etc. As such, I see the need to have a front grill as they are cleaners or auxiliary workers working in the condo.

I don't need to install burglary alarm, CCTV or any other anti-theft gadgets which are standard items in landed property. Maybe I am lucky or maybe is the place I live, so far so good.

Just curious about ur high-rise-apartment, is there a 'Fire Escape Staircase at the back'?

[Chia Hak Soon]

This case is not new. There are countless similar death by fire as resident could not escape due to grilles installed in windows and doors . Here are some of my advice;-

Break ins by thieves while there are no one in the house.

Realize one thing, the thieves have been screening your place before they strike.No grilles or lockset can prevent a thief's crowbars.

Solution:

Know your neighbours well. They can help you to watch while you are away.

Grilles; most grilles are fixed firmly into the brickwall. Remove some and leave 4 loosen screws so as you force through by hand force in the event of a panic. The thieves would not know that the grilles are loosely installed.

Keep a crowbar in each room upstairs,

Robbery; There is no prevention as you have been singled out for one reason or another.

Solution;

Always be vigilant when you drive out or into the house. If someone is trailing you, take a detour and if it persist , drive to the police station.

Robbers don"t strike without planning. When they do, the element of surprise will leave you dumbfounded
for a few minutes.

Install a CCTV which can be access by mobile and a Alarm.

Keep a pet dog .

In the event of a robbery, do not resist ,let them take what they want, lives are more important than property.

Keep a fire extinguisher at the ground floor and first floor.

[opulant]

Just curious about ur high-rise-apartment, is there a 'Fire Escape Staircase at the back'?

Yes, there are two staircases. One is in front of the lift, another one is at one corner of the floor. Both are emergency staircase in which the access door is fire-retardant door. My unit is a corner unit (without wall-sharing neighbour), the emergency staircase is just 5 feet next to my entrance door.

I put a sling bag with 2 big towels in the three bedrooms. The emergency response I will do in case of fire :

1. soak the whole bag in a bathroom sink with water.
2. cover our body with the wet towel
3. get the nearest keys to open the door (either from the spare key box inside the bedrooms or next to the main door, whichever is nearer)
4. walk down the emergency staircase to the open area.

We do this often like 3 times in a year when the kid was a toddler. We carried him while descending the staircase. We still do this exercise now like once a year and calculate who can complete task (1)-(4) quickest.

Just to share, I live above level 15 and the time descend to ground level is less than 4 minutes.

[Naka]

Yes, there are two staircases. One is in front of the lift, another one is at one corner of the floor. Both are emergency staircase in which the access door is fire-retardant door. My unit is a corner unit (without wall-sharing neighbour), the emergency staircase is just 5 feet next to my entrance door.

I put a sling bag with 2 big towels in the three bedrooms. The emergency response I will do in case of fire :

1. soak the whole bag in a bathroom sink with water.
2. cover our body with the wet towel
3. get the nearest keys to open the door (either from the spare key box inside the bedrooms or next to the main door, whichever is nearer)
4. walk down the emergency staircase to the open area.

We do this often like 3 times in a year when the kid was a toddler. We carried him while descending the staircase. We still do this exercise now like once a year and calculate who can complete task (1)-(4) quickest.

Just to share, I live above level 15 and the time descend to ground level is less than 4 minutes.

Are you a scout too? Always "Be Prepared"

[opulant]

Are you a scout too? Always "Be Prepared"

No lah ... not a scout.

Just some basic home safety measures. .

[jan tomaswaki]

Are you a scout too? Always "Be Prepared"

Heard it from my son when I was having breakfast in Amsterdam. Both are my son and daughter tuition mates. Very sad news
.

[bslee]

Some people just presume too much. No earth wire in the entire house? Approved low current appliances maybe 2 pin and passed meeting electrical regulations that its of lowest risk to user. Lets not confuse this with exploding phone batteries and chargers where product quality can lead to a product recall or due replacement. This country imports lots of questionable quality products just because its cheap and attractively priced to customers and that's a contributing factor where the rot starts.
The home electrical system is always with a ground cabling installation and linked to sockets with a ground pin. Of course there's numerous other factors that may lead to short circuitry and then cause a fire where there's combustibles surrounding it. Frayed or deteriorated cables, haphazard extensions, bad or aged connections, etc. Shaver sockets in bathrooms are specially designed sockets with an isolating transformer inside to prevent any electrocution at 110/220V. The appliance is not tapped directly to the mains in this case
.
http://www.worldstandards.eu/electri...s-and-sockets/

https://www.quora.com/Whats-special-...s-only-outlets

Anyway, I've been a witness to one scenario where the home is clearly with a defective ground cabling connectivity and a load of hifi and PC related equipment. It was on one rainy afternoon, there happened a lightning strike while on the PC and internet. There was a big bang and sparks at modem router. It exploded internally and fried everything inside. Mind you, the modem router is powered by an ordinary wall wart. The ELCB didn't trip and should trip if it was a big lightning strike. I forewarned the owner to have his grounding checked, sure enough, it was defective.

Maybe some people tend to easily forget the very tragic catastrophic 21st century tragedy in New York and the state of minds of some people to jump out the window to their deaths..that was very very tragic. It doesn't matter whether its a 100 storey building or 22 X 70 home on fire but when people are trapped in a confined space, people's minds may not be sane.

BTW, I do have a participation certificate (1 month intensive course) from BOMBA at their KKB Academy on Fire Prevention training and have imparted that knowledge when I was employed somewhere. Of course this doesn't certify me as being an expert or tutor level but at least I have undergone proper training by Bomba. We are NOT supposed to do the work of Bomba personnel but to control the situation before their arrival. The essence of the procedures of evacuation and control have not changed since then.

[opulant]

http://www.worldstandards.eu/electri...s-and-sockets/

According to the link above, Japan uses the same electrical plug as in North America, but are predominantly ungrounded. Indeed, based on my experience living in this country, the electrical outlets in Japanese houses are not grounded. Most appliances made in Japan are double insulated, and the ground wire is not absolutely necessary. Btw, a 3rd wire ground is virtually useless for a non-metallic device. The Japanese simply bypassed solving yesterday problem. Double insulation is used in items with metallic cases such as toasters, fridges and washing machines. My personal opinion is that the Japanese think good quality control is enough to insure safety.

I have never seen a 3 pin plug and wall socket in Japan (hotel and business outlet).. and also have not seen 3 pins plug in all the European cities that I have visited. Of course, I have limited exposure in seeing the world... but I think it is still a little bit better than those whose whole life confine in a small room but talk about things that they have not seen or places that they have not been before...

[zinglicious]

1 thing I dun know is what on earth does a family deserved to perish in fire like that. They were considered wonderful people with neighbourhood spirits by facebook friends and confirmed as such by the people in The Star under headline " Lims were truly lovely ". A big loss for USJ community. http://www.thestar.com.my/news/natio...p-they-shared/

[opulant]

Grilles; most grilles are fixed firmly into the brickwall. Remove some and leave 4 loosen screws so as you force through by hand force in the event of a panic. The thieves would not know that the grilles are loosely installed.

Keep a crowbar in each room upstairs,

If you don't have crowbar, a hammer like this will do...

[Naka]

Grilles; most grilles are fixed firmly into the brickwall. Remove some and leave 4 loosen screws so as you force through by hand force in the event of a panic. The thieves would not know that the grilles are loosely installed.

Keep a crowbar in each room upstairs,

Yes, I like to comment on this too.

Do not forget some thieves come with a car jack.