Abu Dhabi civil defence official urges clamp down on fire incidences

Abu Dhabi civil defence official urges residents to take precautions to curb summer fires.

Abu Dhabi — With the summer setting in, the Directorate General of Civil Defence is urging citizens, residents and visitors of the UAE to adhere to safety requirements for prevention against fires caused by negligence.

The directorate general also emphasised the importance of installing fire prevention equipment in homes.

Major-General Jassem Mohammed Al Marzouqui, Civil Defence General Commander-in-Chief, said that Civil Defence departments are well prepared and have added even more advanced and modern vehicles to their fleet, equipped with the best firefighting equipment.

“The directorate also enhanced its outreach programmes and activities, as well as its clampdown campaigns to ensure that safety components are well observed at industrial plants, in an effort to curb summer fires and reduce these occurrences,” he continued.

Major-General Al Marzouqui emphasised that community members can efficiently contribute to curb the occurrence of fires — that increase during summer — by complying with the prevention requirements and procedures in their houses, stores and even in their vehicles. “This can be achieved by using high quality and efficient electric switches and wiring; and avoiding faulty electrical materials that are used for connecting the power to electrical appliances, such as refrigerators, water heaters, air conditioners, and exhaust fans,” he said.

Your Safety campaign

In line with the “Your Safety” campaign, Al Marzouqui called on families to ensure that electric and gas cooking stoves are up to safety standards; to seek the help of professional technicians to regularly check and fix any malfunction, prevent children from accessing kitchens in an effort to protect them from flames or hot liquids. He also advised them against using indoor barbecues or grills due to the risks of suffocation from toxic gases and fumes.

He urged parents to prevent their children from playing unattended or unsupervised in amusement parks or at the beaches. He called upon tent users to keep fire sources, stoves and electrical generators away from tents and refrain from smoking inside. Furthermore, he indicated that light bulbs and wiring should be maintained at a sufficient distance from the tent’s fabrics.

Al Marzouqui warned against vehicle fire incidents and the associated risks such as fatalities and injuries caused by drivers’ negligence. These include failure of regular maintenance of vehicles for oil and fuel leaks and electrical malfunctions. He also pointed that failure to abide by prevention and safety guidelines in vehicles and regular maintenance to ensure vehicles’ serviceability may cause vehicles to catch fire and result in injuries or loss of life and property. He called on drivers to take necessary precautions.

Service your vehicles

He also noted that most of the fires caused by car accidents resulted from negligence of owners and their failure to have a fire extinguisher inside the vehicle conforming to the standards currently approved by UAE Civil Defense authorities. He said: “During the summer, high temperatures can cause the engine to become overheated and catch fire. Other cases of fire have involved situations where fuel drops onto hot surfaces, such as the exhaust, caused a fire,” he explained.

He advised motorists to regularly service their vehicles, equip them with fire extinguishers that meet the approved specifications, to check the level and quality of vehicle oils, to refill water levels, and to prevent any leakage of fuel and oil.

Talking about fire incidents involving trucks, Al Marzouqui said: “The most common causes leading to these accidents include, overloading of trucks and inadequate cargo securing; neglecting tyre inspection and maintenance; neglecting regular maintenance of trucks; long working hours and sleep restrictions for truck drivers, which cause fatigue and negatively affect their concentration and alertness,” he said.

Farm fires

Moreover, he continued: “The main cause of farm fires is agricultural waste, which, if kept for long periods of time, may lead to gas emissions produced by bacterial decomposition, ultimately leading to spontaneous ignition of waste stockpiles, under favorable conditions. Neglect is also one of the causes of farm fires, when workers dispose of waste in open fires within farms or houses and fail to take immediate action when the fire erupts, which would ultimately cause the fire to spread, therefore making firefighters’ job even more difficult.”

He also said: “It is important to take a number of precautionary measures to avoid fires in the house, including a fire extinguisher, a fire blanket, first aid kit and others.”

He also noted that Civil Defense entities across all stations in the country, as well as their general directorates and local departments are always ready to receive emergency calls and reports around-the-clock, to provide emergency services and various prevention and safety requirements to preserve lives, property and the environment, and to instill tranquility and safety among the public. In conclusion, he called upon community members not to hesitate to request assistance from the Civil Defense at any time, for the purpose of firefighting and rescue operations on the emergency number 999 or 997.

reporters@khaleejtimes.com