Challenges and barriers of fire safety management in heritage building / Nurelisa Hamira Abdul Hamid and Zuraihana Ahmad Zawawi

A heritage building must have a proper fire safety management plan in place to protect its occupants and maintain the building's historical significance. The heritage building owners and managers can ensure the safety of occupants, safeguard the structure and its historical significance, and adhere to regulations by implementing a fire safety management plan. However, the fire safety management in heritage buildings is a critical and complex issue due to the unique challenges presented by preserving historical structures while ensuring the safety of occupants and the building itself. Thus, the aim of this paper is to identify the challenges and barriers of implementation of fire safety management in heritage building. The study utilizes a survey methodology to gather data from various background of staffs and visitors of case study building in Penang. The survey questionnaire consists of Likert-scale questions to seek the respondents’ opinion and agreements about the challenges and barriers statements which have been identified through the secondary data collection. The challenges of fire safety management in heritage buildings have also been identified through comparisons between public and private buildings. The findings of this study will contribute to the awareness of the relevant organizations which have responsibilities in managing the heritage building to have a good practice of fire safety management.