Cigarettes among major causes of fire in UAE last year

Sharjah - Sharjah Police urged the people not to carelessly discard cigarette butts.

Cigarette butts, ill-maintained or faulty air conditioners, poor electricity connections and extensions and fake electrical appliances were the leading causes of fire accidents in residential and industrial buildings in Sharjah last year, a fire investigation report of the Sharjah Police has revealed.
Col Adil Al Mazmi, fire expert at forensic laboratory for the Sharjah Police, urged the people, especially those in residential buildings, factories and commercial places, not to carelessly discard cigarette butts, which could result in fires and loss of property as well as lives.
He stressed on the importance of choosing and installing good quality electrical connections and avoid using sub-standard extensions and loading them with energy higher than their capacity, which may trigger blaze.
Al Mazmi also underlined that people should not leave the gas cylinders switched on and ensure the safety of the natural gas pipelines as well.
With the advent of winter when tenants use water heaters in bathrooms indiscriminately, explosions and fire accidents increase.
To avoid any mishap while taking shower, residents must not put on the water heaters for long hours, as some of them could explode, he added.
The expert pointed out that fire incidents in commercial and industrial establishments are also caused by improper storing of goods and inflammable materials. "Another most common cause is the installation of poor or fake electrical appliances, which results in a rise in temperature that leads to combustion of the insulating materials, and the resultant fire."
Sadly, as Al Mazmi rued, the reports issued about fires, prepared by specialists from the forensic laboratory in Sharjah, confirm that all the abovementioned reasons behind blazes are often repeated in accidents.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Sharjah