‘Abu Dhabi houses, villas lack fire alarm systems’
abu dhabi — Many houses and villas in Abu Dhabi still have no fire alarm systems despite calls from authorities to instal the devices to help prevent fire incidents.
Mohammed Al Mutawa, CEO of AlSaher.me, a security and safety management facility firm in Abu Dhabi, said he has observed that most of the old houses and villas in Abu Dhabi Island have no fire alarms for detecting smoke and fire.
“Fire alarm systems can only be found in residential buildings because it’s mandatory for the owners to instal the fire detectors there,” he said.
“Some new residential compounds have fire alarm systems. But in most of the old houses and villas, there are no such systems, which is very dangerous because it poses risk to people’s safety.”
Al Mutawa made the comments following the death of eight members of an Emirati family, who suffocated after a major fire that broke up in their home located in Bani Yas area of Abu Dhabi.
Khaleej Times had earlier visited several villa compounds in Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ) City, especially those shared by families, and found there were no fire extinguishers and fire alarms installed in the houses. Several villas in Al Muroor Road area along Al Walah Street, for instance, had no fire extinguishers or fire alarms installed inside.
Government support
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had in January this year ordered to link fire-specific early warning systems featuring indoor sirens in all homes of UAE nationals, following the horrific incident in which a mother lost her seven children in a house fire in Fujairah. Sheikh Mohammed also stated that households that could not afford the smoke detectors would have it installed at the government’s expense.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said it had also launched a new system ‘Hasantak’ for detecting fires and smoke in a fast and smart way.
Make it mandatory for all
Al Mutawa said it is good thing if authorities put in place strict laws that make it mandatory for all houses, villas and buildings to have fire alarm systems for protection of people’s lives.
“Fire is something that breaks out suddenly and can spread to the entire house in just seconds. It’s everyone’s responsibility to protect lives. People should endeavour to safeguard their homes by installing fire alarms or fire detectors,” said Al Mutawa.