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New fire extinguishers must for all Sharjah buildings

SHARJAH — All residential houses and buildings in the emirate will be provided with new fire extinguishers to replace the old ones. The move aims at preventing fire incidents and ensuring safety for residents.

Harib Al Tunaiji, head of the Emergency Inspection Committee, said that inspectors would start distributing the fire extinguishers following the holy month of Ramadan. The cost of the fire extinguishers, ranging between Dh60 and Dh120, will be borne by the landlords. The extinguishers will be approved by the committee based on international safety standards.

Al Tunaiji explained that the recent fire incidents in residential buildings could be attributed to the lack of fire safety systems.

The committee will be coordinating with the municipality and the Civil Defence to make installing of new extinguishers obligatory for each residential house and building. Failing to abide by the directive will invite penalties, he added. The new easy-to-use extinguishers will have stickers displaying quality assurance certificates and instructions on how to use it.

However, thanks to the greater safety awareness among residents, the number of fire incidents in residential buildings dropped about 50 per cent this year compared to previous year.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com