Cartoon characters roped in to promote child safety
sharjah — The Sharjah prevention and Safety Authority (SPSA) has roped in two cartoon characters to intensify its awareness programme to reduce the number of children falling to death in the emirate.
Sheikh Saif Mohammed Al Qassimi, director of the SPSA, said that the cartoon characters Salama and Hamoud would help children learn how to protect themselves from danger in an entertaining manner.
He added that as Salama and Hamoud characters are very much loved by children, “we decided to use it to encourage the children learn preventive measures”.
Al Qasimi said Salama and Hamoud can promote safety initiatives not just among children but also among various age groups as the two cartoon characters are quite popular in the community.
Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr Al Qasimi, chairman of the SPSA, said that the authority is continuing to promote the culture of safety among children, public and building owners.
The SPSA has recently inspected 455 buildings, covering 17,652 flats in seven areas, including Al Batinah, Al Tawoun, Al Majaz, Al Nabah and Al Shahba, Al Qasimiyah and Industrial Area 6, to ensure safety of the tenants. The inspections also included educating the residents and building owners about safety measures in residential buildings and construction sites.
He added that the SPSA carried out 12 awareness programmes and workshops targeting 1,300 members of the community, in addition to launching five awareness cam- paigns, which have reached out to around 2 million individuals to reduce potential accidents and prevent hazards.
The SPSA seeks to see a safe and risk-free society through the promotion of a culture of communitybased prevention by applying the highest standards of safety being adopted worldwide.
Besides tenants, the building owners, consultants, and contractors, were also urged to take all preventive measures in order to ensure the safety of workers in the construction sites.
Role of inspectors
Lamea Al Noman, director of support services department at the SPSA, urged building and homeowners to instal smoke detectors and ensure fire extinguishers and other facilities are subject to periodic maintenance. Al Noman added that the role of the inspectors is to carry out awareness campaigns on residential buildings and several workshops have been carried out throughout the year.
Abdul Rahma Al Shuhail, director of inspection section at the SPSA, added that the inspectors need to ensure that residential buildings are equipped with emergency exits, lighting emergency signs, and that there are no obstructions in the exits.
He said that the inspectors are also bound to check the safety of elevators in residential buildings.
Salama and Hamoud can promote safety initiatives not just among children but also among various age groups as the two cartoon characters are quite popular in the community. Sheikh Saif Mohammed Al Qassimi, director, SPSA