There were more than 15 accidents caused by such increase in temperature of thermal sources since the summer of 2016.
Sharjah - A police fire expert said they usually receive the accident sites from the civil defence after cooling operations are conducted.
Published: Thu 24 Aug 2017, 9:46 PM
Last updated: Thu 24 Aug 2017, 11:49 PM
Most of the fire accidents that occurred in 2016 and 2017 in the Sharjah Industrial Areas were caused by electric short circuits or thermal sources that flamed due to rise in temperatures, according to forensic investigations.
The investigation also revealed that there were fires set by people intentionally - four such accidents happened in 2015 and 2016 and two fires in the last seven months of 2017.
A police fire expert said they usually receive the accident sites from the civil defence after cooling operations are conducted. "In many recent accidents, experts who inspected the sites found fire was initiated from neighbouring warehouses and storing areas due to electrical glitches. The temperatures rose to extreme levels gradually melting the insulation materials of wires, and other flammable materials on the site. There were more than 15 accidents caused by such increase in temperature of thermal sources since the summer of 2016," he noted.
"Electrical short circuits caused more than three fires in 2016 and 2017. The other causes include the leaking of cooking gas, diffusion of dyes, welding, and escalation of petroleum fumes. "In 2016, the total number of fire accidents was 307, of which 41 were in industrial facilities."
The official explained that industrial areas are exposed to fires due to a number of reasons - continuous work at workshops, daily electrical and industrial operations at factories, use of chemicals and gases in manufacturing, to name a few.
"The Sharjah industrial zones have various types of industrial warehouses which contain flammable and hazardous materials as well as electrical cables and transformers. These materials are easily flammable and extend to nearby warehouses, factories leading to the loss of lives and properties," he said.
Awareness inspection
Colonel Sami Al Naqbi, director-general of the Sharjah Civil Defence, said the recent fires at the industrial areas had quick responses and evacuation operations by the police and civil defence teams and reported one casualty.
During a recent inspection campaign targeted at establishments prone to fire accidents, it was found that many reasons contributed to the blazes in summer, such as overloading power in transformers and cables, poor quality of wiring and improper electric network connections.
"The inspection found violations such as improper storage in warehouses - a violation that hinder the access of firefighters to the site during fire accidents. Some companies attached accommodation or kitchen facilities to their premises, thereby failing to adhere to the fire safety procedures and exposing their workers to danger," said Col Al Naqbi.
"The civil defence in coordination with the concerned authorities is making great efforts to reduce the number of fire accidents in summer. It is also working to improve the quality of the quick response teams to control the blaze before it reaches nearby premises or objects.
"In most of the recent fire accidents, the firefighters reached the site in three minutes rather than five minutes. With the unified operations room, the police and civil defence teams will be able to respond more quickly. The department seeks to link all commercial and industrial establishments in the emirate to the unified operations room to alerts the firefighters of the locations of fire for quicker response," he said.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com
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