The perception that fire is not a risk for Maltese buildings is untrue and needs to change, Minister for Public Works and Planning Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi said.

He was addressing a conference on fire safety organised by the Malta Chamber of Commerce.

The impression the minister has, is that people in Malta have the perception that fire is not a risk in Maltese buildings, he said. This is something that needs to change, he said, adding that this perception is "completely untrue."

He was not the only person to highlight such an issue. Peter Paul Coleiro, the Director General of the Civil Protection Department, also brought this up. He quoted from a report in the 1940s by a certain Superintendent Goodman. "The first sentence in the report reads: 'owing to the somewhat popular belief that fires cannot possibly occur in Malta, it is obvious that firefighting has never been treated seriously in the past.' 80 years later I'm ashamed to say that the CPD still finds the same belief, and we discuss this with business owners, people in the street. There is this myth that fires don't occur in homes, against all the statistics and efforts the country is doing to educate the population."

There are two more myths, he said. "The first, and this usually comes from business people, is when they say 'I am insured'. They don't realise that their business would close down and they would have to wait weeks, months, possibly years. Looking at business continuity management, 60% of businesses that experienced a major trauma like a fire, will close, going out of business. 80% of the 40% that survive will close off in next 4 years as during their downtime, their clients will go elsewhere for business."

The third myth, he said, is that people tell them that they are ok as they have a fire extinguisher. "If your fire safety strategy is based on a fire extinguisher, you are in trouble. That is not fire safety. Fire safety is far more complex."

Coleiro highlighted the four key components needed to have a secure and efficient fire safety system on a nationwide basis. 

You need an availability of competent professionals and a pool of fire engineers and fire safety consultants. You also need busines soperators who do not want to compromise on safety with cheap solutions and products. You need a market that discards cheap knockoffs  and sells quality products. Throughout our inspections we find sometimes that even when it comes to signage, they use printed knockoffs that melt in a fire."

The fourth, he said, is that "you need a comprehensive legislation with the necessary legislation to enforce, and that falls on government. We are moving ahead with that."

This latter point is something the Chamber is pushing for.

While speaking during the event, Catherine Calleja, Council Member and Chair of the Health and Wellness Committee within The Malta Chamber, said that the Chamber is pushing for a single piece of legislation which can be updated by regulation regularly, she said.

She said that Malta's building stock changed radically over the past 50 years. The percentage of the population living and working in close proximity to others in blocks of several stories "has increased radically. The shift from low-rise to high-rise development using new materials has gained a momentum which cannot be stopped. Unfortunately fire safety still has not been a priority when designing such premises," she said.