Safety lapse before Hsichih fire seen as part of wider problem

Earlier this month, when a blaze ripped through a 26-story high-tech complex in Hsichih, it was quickly discovered that the building hadn't passed a fire safety inspection since 1998.

While a final report on the cause of the fire has yet to be released, poor enforcement of safety regulations is considered to be a key contributor to the longest blaze in Taiwan's history.

As the National Fire Administration begins to look into the standards of other buildings which are 15 stories or higher -- a total of 2,172 nationwide -- it is becoming obvious that the lack of enforcement of safety standards is not only a problem in Taipei County but a serious concern around the country.

Not only is the lack of standards a concern, but the fire administration's lack of information about the nation's high-rise buildings shows just how slack the entire system has become.

According to construction regulations released in 1997 by the Ministry of the Interior's Construction and Planning Administration, commercial buildings must report the condition of their public safety standards to local governments annually. In addition, under fire prevention regulations drawn up by the National Fire Administration, commercial buildings are required to report the condition of their fire prevention equipment every year.

If these two sets of regulations were properly enforced, the National Fire Administration would have a better grasp of the state of affairs at all high-rise buildings in Taiwan, and the survey which is now being carried out would be unnecessary.

Local governments say their hands are tied. They also blame building management committees for failing to provide statements of their public safety standards.

"In Kaohsiung, the owners of most buildings have not submitted their buildings' public safety reports," said Lu Cheng-yi (盧正義), an official from Kaohsiung City government's public works bureau. "The percentage of buildings that report their public security statements is quite low, and actually 50 to 60 percent is considered high. On the other hand, there are only 10 officials managing all of the buildings in the city. There is just not enough manpower."

There are 4,158 buildings in Kaohsiung City that officials must inspect.

A Taipei County official echoed Lu's comments.

"We have been ordered to check all buildings. We check those commercial buildings that the public uses all the time very strictly, such as theaters, pubs and clubs. But we don't have enough manpower to check all of the buildings in Taipei County," said Tien Yu-chang (田玉昶), an official at Taipei County's Public Works Department.

There are 6,210 buildings in Taipei County. Not only are public work bureaus shorthanded, but fire prevention bureaus face the same problem.

"Because manpower is lacking, we check buildings randomly. I know there are a lot of buildings using fake alarms that can pass tests but never function in a real fire," said Fang Wei-chih (方偉至), a firefighter for the Taipei County government.

The public works bureau of the Taipei City government has at least 30 officials managing all of the buildings in Taipei City.

"Fortunately, we have more manpower than other local governments. To my knowledge, other governments do not even have enough officials to manage official documents," said Huang Jen-kong (黃仁鋼), an official at the Taipei City government's public works bureau.