Revisions to fire safety laws are long overdue and should be prioritized, while public reporting of infractions should be encouraged, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus said yesterday, following a deadly fire in a food processing factory last week.
The fire broke out in early on Tuesday morning last week at a Lian Hwa Foods Corp factory in Changhua County, trapping 22 employees in the building.
Four Philippine nationals and four Taiwanese died in the blaze, and 14 other people were injured.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
TPP caucus director-general Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday that national fire regulations are insufficient to keep people safe.
The Fire Services Act (消防法) was amended three times between 2019 and last year and debated in several sessions, Jang said.
However, disasters continue to occur in buildings that are technically legal through regulatory loopholes, he said.
The Lian Hwa Foods factory was up to code, but was legally exempt from installing sprinklers, he said.
The company last year did not report its public safety inspection as required by law, leaving potential issues unknown to authorities until after the incident, Jang said, adding that there were clearly some lapses in oversight.
Fining the company NT$300,000 after the fire cannot bring back those eight lives back, Jang said.
The TPP caucus supports amending the act through public-private collaboration to bolster fire prevention management, improve safety standards, encourage public reporting and increase penalties, he said.
Article 13 of the act requires building administrators to create a fire plan, but the regulation should be amended to prevent those responsible from evading legal liability, he added.
Meanwhile, a separate firefighting equipment bill has languished in procedural process for 24 years, TPP caucus deputy convener Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) said.
The bill has not passed the legislature in the seven times it has been submitted, despite its potential to reduce casualties and property damage, Lai said.
Under the bill, those who design, manufacture or maintain firefighting equipment would be required to pass a certification exam and obtain an operating license.
Current regulations enable architects and lower-tier technicians to obtain operating licenses without having undertaken thorough examinations, despite their roles being different from that of a professional firefighting equipment engineer, Lai said.
A stalemate has formed on their intended roles, and the two main parties have yet to reach a consensus, she added.
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