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Lack of inspections main cause of fires

The year 2005 has witnessed more than 20 major fire accidents in residential, commercial and industrial areas, due to the lack of inspections campaign to ensure that owners of these places are abiding by the fire protection and safety regulations set up by the Civil Defence.

There are a large number of commercial outlets violating the regulations by not installing fire protection equipment such as extinguishers, hose reel and alarm system, because they didn’t experience any inspections by officers from the Civil Defence. Maintaining warehouses in residential buildings is against regulations. Lack of safety equipment is one of the reasons that caused the fire in a Rolla building in which a newly married couple lost their lives. The fire which broke out in a commercial outlet in the Al Nahda area was caused due to improper maintenance of safety procedures. The public in Sharjah has urged for the intensification of inspections by the Civic Defence to eliminate fire accidents in the emirate.

Speaking to Khaleej Times Naeem Ahmed, a textile outlet keeper, said that he keeps a fire extinguisher in his shop, but he doesn’t know how to use it. “What is the use of keeping it in the shop without using it at the time of emergency? Our products are made out of silk, cotton and wool. A fire accident can break out in this shop at any time because we don’t know the safety procedures that can be used to prevent a fire accident here as all the products are flammable,” he said.

Ahmed added that the Civil Defence should organise safety awareness programmes to educate the public how to use such equipment and what are the necessary proceedures to be followed to prevent a fire accident.

Liela Mahmmoud, who lives in a building in Al Butaina, said there is no kind of fire equipment in their building as it is an old one. “Since we moved to this building five years ago, there were three fires which have taken place in the watchman’s room, kitchen of the apartment, and in a locked-up flat of a family away on leave. In all these cases, we failed to do anything as there were no equipments in the building. But the fire-fighters arrived quickly and put out the fire before it expanded and caused major damage to people and property."

Keloid Al Kash, an official at the government department, said that the Civil Defence should conduct regular inspections in all labour camps, industrial and commercial outlets, and warehouses every six months to ensure that all equipment installed in these places are functioning well and prepared for usage at the time of emergency. The Civil Defence inspectors should punish the violators by at least charging them fines. Watchmen in the building should learn about how to use the hose reel and extinguishers to be able to do something that can help prevent the expansion of fire equipment, so that they can help reduce the damages till the fire fighter arrives at the place of the accident. Fire and safety awareness campaigns should be conducted in schools to educate children about the importance of following the procedures to prevent fires.

Qamar Al Deen Nour, a labourer who lost his passport in a fire accident that broke out in a residential accommodation in Al Ghuwair, said that all the equipment like extingushers are old, because they have never been inspected by the Civil Defence. A top official from the Civil Defence said that the department, in coordination with the Sharjah Police and the Sharjah Municipality, is studying a new, cooperative mechanism to help eliminate fire accidents in commercial and industrial areas. It is working towards organising safety awareness campaigns in all companies in industrial and commercial areas to educate their employees about the importance of safety and protection procedures and how to use the fire protection equipment. The department also identified the dangerous, flammable items for isolation in separate places far from residential buildings. The inspectors are making great efforts to intensify safety campaigns to ensure that restaurants, labourer camps, residential and industrial buildings abide by the safety regulations.

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