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Ban on wooden shacks reduces fire accidents

SHARJAH — The recent ban on using wooden planks to build labour accommodation has contributed a great deal in reducing fire accidents by 35 per cent in Sharjah, Gareeb Shaban, Director of Sharjah Civil Defence Department, said on Monday.

The ban was issued by the Sharjah Town Planning Department in coordination with the emergency committee to curb fire accidents.

The decision also made it obligatory on all companies in Sharjah industrial areas to build the houses for workers with cement and concrete and maintain all fire safety equipment to ensure safety and protection for the workers.

The portakabins used as permanent houses have increased fire accidents and caused injuries and deaths of many workers.

The committee, during inspections, had found many companies exposing the workers’ lives to danger by providing them accommodation inside the factory or warehouse in which they are working for. The committee gave companies a grace period to rectify the situation.

The committee inspectors are monitoring the companies continuously to ensure that they are abiding by the regulations to avoid fire accidents.

Shaban said, “It’s difficult to prevent fire accidents completely in the industrial areas as Sharjah has the biggest industrial areas. But we are trying to make maximum efforts to minimise the fire accidents in the emirate.”

He said the committee, since its establishment in 2006, had not shut down any company, but had given verbal and written warnings and disconnected power supply to the companies which had failed to follow the rules.

The violation of rules and fire accidents had declined by 40 per cent during the last three months due to intensified inspections by the committee which maintained the files of each company that had been inspected and given warnings and penalised.

The Civil Defence in coordination with committee was taking measures to deal with fires that could occur during the coming summer season. The precautionary measures included intensifying inspections in industrial, commercial and residential areas, he added.

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