'Culture of safety key to fire prevention'

Sharjah - The force is making great efforts to spread the culture of safety sustainably in industrial environments

Starting July 2, inspections have been intensified on areas and types of businesses that witnessed frequent fire accidents in Sharjah.
"Inspectors from each fire station will be carrying out checks in the areas they cover, to see if these industrial premises comply with the fire safety regulations," Colonel Sami Al Naqbi, Director General of Sharjah Civil Defence, said.
The force is also making great efforts to spread the culture of safety sustainably in an industrial environment. The inspection will continue 24/7 to prevent violations.
Role of awareness
Since the beginning of the year, the Civil Defence carried out four major awareness campaigns to educate business owners, workers and employees about the importance of implementing safety procedures. The four campaigns focused on safety at petrol stations, evacuation at hotels and the gathering of onlookers at accident locations.
More such campaigns targeting students and companies and the public, will begin in the second half of the year. Col Al Naqbi urged the citizens, residents and business owners to prevent fires by applying necessary instructions, especially during the summer.
Policing fires
Brig Saif Al Zari AlShamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, said that the force's patrol rescue units are always in readiness to respond to fire accidents when the operations room gets a call.
The police provide support to the Civil Defence to facilitate their mission by cordoning off roads, dispersing crowds, evacuating premises and rescuing stranded people and animals. Their main priority is protecting lives during fire accidents.
The other key role of the police involves forensic investigation to determine the cause of fires and preparing the damage report for insurance.
The top official at the Sharjah Police's forensic laboratory said that after cooling operations are done at the site, evidence is collected and examined. "If the fire is caused by electric short-circuiting, high temperatures or other reasons, the reports will be referred to the concerned department for follow-up," said the official. "But if the fire is set off by someone on purpose, the report will be referred to the police for further investigation."
Most of the recent fires in the emirate were caused by short circuits from power overload, and others due to the hot summer and operational temperatures.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com