Starting next week, the fire department will punish residents who block evacuation routes and refuse to cooperate

[Macao Daily News] Law No. 15/2021 "Legal System for Fire Safety of Buildings and Venues" has been officially implemented since August 17 this year. To this end, apart from carrying out a series of publicity and promotion work on the new law, the Fire Services Department has also continued to dispatch officers to carry out fire safety inspections in various districts of the Territory, and conducted large-scale inspection and publicity work on building fire safety since 13 August to eliminate fire safety hazards in the community in a timely manner.

As of October 12, a total of more than 26,600 households (units) were investigated, of which more than 18,000 households were normal, and more than 6,600 households were involved in the obstruction of non-fixed objects, mainly the placement of shoe cabinets and debris in the public corridor. Among them, more than 3,300 households have made immediate improvements after being persuaded by the Fire Services Department to clean up the debris themselves; Twenty households refused to cooperate.

Indeed, in the early days when the new Fire Protection Law came into effect, when the fire services Department found that there were debris blocking the evacuation routes, it was mainly to persuade the residents first, so that the residents could have a more adequate period of adaptation. As the new law has been in effect for some time, residents should be aware of their responsibilities and obligations. In view of this, in order to effectively crack down on illegal acts and ensure fire safety in the community, the Fire Department will officially launch punishment procedures from next week.

The new fire prevention law is closely related to all sectors of society, especially the daily life of the general public, and we hope that the public and all sectors of society can earnestly fulfill the fire safety responsibilities of buildings, so as to build a better and safe living environment for Macao.

------ From Macau Daily News October 13, 2022