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Get smoke detector in your Sharjah house before Oct 1

Sharjah - Three companies approved to sell the devices to residents and owners of residential units.

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Smoke detectors will become mandatory in Sharjah homes and residential buildings from October 1.

The civil defense has issued a circular instructing all owners of such units to ensure installation of smoke detectors for fire safety.

Col. Sami Al Naqbi, Director General of Sharjah Municipality, said that the department has recently approved three companies to sell the devices to residents and owners of residential units.

The department is also planning to allow more companies to sell and install such detectors so that every part of the emirate can be covered.

Al Naqbi pointed out that an agreement was signed with Sharjah Municipality to establish a mechanism for installation of the equipment. The municipality will monitor and approve fire prevention drawing, which must be issued by the building license department. The civil defense department's main responsibility would be to inspect the site.

Effective next year, the authorities will not green-signal any drawing or plan without installation of fire safety equipment and ensuring their periodic maintenance so that fire accidents don't happen. These fire safety equipment include smoke detectors and fire alarms which give out a whistle warning if there's smoke in the house, giving enough time for people to evacuate.

Al Naqbi said that several promotional campaigns have been carried out to highlight necessity of these devices through social media and mosques -- where imams have explained the importance of smoke detectors to prevent accidents and distributed 20,000 such devices for free to people.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah