Renovating a shop or office? Know which fire items belong to you, which belong to the building, and what your fit-out changes.
A shop or office usually relies on portable fire extinguishers, and depending on the building, hose reels, a fire alarm with smoke detection, sprinklers, emergency lighting and exit signs. Much of it belongs to the building, not the tenant, but a renovation that moves partitions, ceilings or exits can affect all of it, and Bomba sign-off is needed for anything that touches escape routes, sprinklers, smoke detection or emergency lighting. The systems are specialist work; ClickBina coordinates the specialist around the fit-out. A site visit is RM150, waived if you go ahead.
Walk through any Klang Valley shoplot or office floor and you will usually find some of the following. Which ones apply to your unit depends on the building, its size and use, and what Bomba approved when it was built or last altered.
| Item | What it does | Usually belongs to |
|---|---|---|
| Portable fire extinguishers | Put out a small fire in its first moments | Tenant inside the unit; building in common areas |
| Hose reels | A fixed hose on a water supply for small to medium fires | Building (often in common corridors or at the unit) |
| Fire alarm and smoke detection | Detects smoke or heat and raises the alarm | Building system, with detectors inside units |
| Sprinklers | Discharge water automatically over a fire | Building system, with heads inside units |
| Emergency lighting and exit signs | Light the escape route when power fails | Building in common areas; unit fit-out inside |
| Fire-rated doors and walls | Hold back fire and smoke between compartments | Building; see the fire door guide |
Fire-rated doors are covered in ClickBina's fire-rated door guide. This page covers the rest, from the point of view of a tenant or owner fitting out a shop or office.
Responsibility is split, and the split is where things get missed. In a strata building, ClickBina's strata fire safety guide explains that the management body is responsible for common property, which includes sprinkler systems, fire doors, hose reels, fire alarm panels and emergency lighting. Individual owners and tenants must not obstruct exits, tamper with equipment or cover sprinkler heads, and must follow the by-laws when renovating.
Inside a rented unit, the tenancy agreement decides who provides and maintains the extinguishers and any equipment serving only that unit. Read it, and ask the landlord or building management for their fit-out rules before designing anything. In a standalone shoplot with no management body, the owner and tenant deal with the council and Bomba directly.
Under the Fire Services Act 1988, certain buildings classified as designated premises must hold a Fire Certificate. The strata fire safety guide linked above explains that Bomba designates a building based on its use, occupancy, height or floor area, that most stratified commercial buildings are designated premises, and that the certificate must be renewed annually after a Bomba inspection of the fire safety systems.
For a tenant, the practical points are these. If the building is designated, the certificate is usually held by the owner or management body, and your fit-out must not break the conditions it depends on. If you are unsure whether your premises is designated, check with your state Bomba office rather than assuming. Operating a designated premises without a valid certificate is an offence under the Act.
Extinguishers are not interchangeable. Each type suits particular kinds of fire, and Wikipedia's fire extinguisher entry notes that extinguishers are marked with pictograms showing the types of fire they are approved to fight. Classification letters differ between countries, so read the label on the unit rather than relying on a letter alone.
| Type | Suited to | Typical place in a shop or office |
|---|---|---|
| Dry powder (multipurpose) | Several fire types, including ordinary materials and flammable liquids | General cover near exits |
| Carbon dioxide (CO2) | Electrical equipment; it works mainly by displacing oxygen | Server racks, switch rooms, counters with equipment |
| Water or foam | Ordinary materials such as paper, wood and fabric (foam also for some liquids) | Stockrooms and offices without live electrics nearby |
| Wet chemical | Cooking fats and oils | Commercial kitchens |
Mount extinguishers where people can reach them on the way out, not hidden behind stock or inside locked cabinets, and keep the service tag visible. How many you need and where they go is set by the fire safety requirements for your premises, so ask the fire consultant or the specialist contractor rather than guessing.
A hose reel is a length of hose on a drum connected to a water supply, meant for occupants to tackle a fire before it grows. Hose reels and hydrants are part of the building's fire-fighting system, which is why the strata guide lists them as common property. During a fit-out the rules are simple: keep hose reel cabinets reachable and never box them in behind new partitions, shelving or signage; do not use them as a water point for the works; and report any damage to the building management.
A fire alarm system links detectors, manual call points and sounders to a control panel, as Wikipedia's fire alarm system entry describes. In most commercial buildings the panel belongs to the building and the detectors inside your unit are part of that system.
This is where fit-outs cause the most trouble. A new partition can leave a room with no detector. A new ceiling can bury a detector or put it in the wrong place. Dust from hacking and sanding can set detectors off, so the building usually asks for them to be covered or isolated during works, and uncovered and tested before handover. Every change should go through the building's fire alarm contractor.
Emergency lights and exit signs keep the escape route visible when the power fails. ClickBina's commercial electrical maintenance guide points out that emergency lighting is the asset most often forgotten in offices, and that function tests should be recorded. A new layout often needs exit signs moved or added so that every part of the unit still shows the way out. The emergency lighting and exit signs guide covers the fitting types, testing and common faults.
ClickBina's commercial renovation permit guide explains that anything affecting escape routes, fire-rated compartments, sprinklers, smoke detection, emergency lighting or, for F&B, kitchen fire suppression needs Bomba review and approval, and that Bomba clearance is typically a prerequisite before the council issues the business premise permit.
| Stage | Who is involved | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Check the building rules | Landlord or building management | Fit-out manual, approved contractors, deposits and working hours |
| Design the layout with fire items marked | Designer and fire consultant | Detector, sprinkler, exit and extinguisher positions on the drawings |
| Submissions | Consultant, building management, Bomba, council | Approvals before affected works start |
| Fit-out works | Fit-out contractor with the specialist fire contractor | Partitions and ceilings coordinated with fire items |
| Testing and handover | Specialist contractor, building management | Systems tested, records handed over, snag list |
ClickBina's commercial fit-out process guide gives about 2 – 6 weeks for commercial approvals and warns that starting submissions too late is the usual cause of a missed opening date.
Installing and servicing fire alarm, sprinkler and extinguisher systems is specialist work done by Bomba-registered firms. Keep a simple file: the service tags and reports for each extinguisher, the fire alarm service reports, emergency light test records and any Bomba correspondence. When the building renews its fire certificate, a tenant whose unit has blocked exits or covered detectors can hold up the whole building.
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ClickBina handles commercial renovation and fit-out works and coordinates the trades. Fire alarm, sprinkler and extinguisher systems are specialist work, so ClickBina coordinates with the specialist fire contractor and the building management so the fit-out and the fire items are planned together. ClickBina is an experienced KL & Selangor contractor. We reply within the hour, the price we agree is a flat price with no hidden charges, and a site visit is RM150, waived if you go ahead.
Methodology: this page gives no prices, extinguisher counts, distances or test intervals, because none are published on a ClickBina page and they depend on the premises and its approvals. Confirm requirements with Bomba, the building management and a fire consultant.
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