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Strict laws not enough to ensure safety

Sharjah - In existing buildings, the Sharjah municipality has introduced modifications to ensure safety of children.

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The Sharjah Municipality recently tightened inspections to ensure that child safety conditions and regulations are followed in all the buildings, including under-construction buildings.

In existing buildings, the municipality has introduced modifications to ensure safety of children. Speaking to Khaleej Times, Gaith Abdul Rahman Al Shamsi, Director of Construction Licensing, said the municipality is taking all steps to ensure safety of children.

He said that under the instructions of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, who is most concerned about child safety and family stability, the municipality has recently introduced precautionary measures and intensified technical and engineering monitoring to ensure that the safety specifications have been implemented during construction.
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He added that based on the article 11/2 which has been modified in 2012, Sharjah residential apartments, new and old, should now have window safety locks and at least 120cm-high balcony railings. Window sills must also be at least a metre high from the floor level and not open more than 10cm wide.

The municipality also instructed old building owners and management to install locks in the windows, which should not be opened to more than 10 centimetres.

Al Shamsi said that these conditions must be implemented to prevent deaths of children, who were in many cases, left unsupervised and managed to climb through open windows or over balcony enclosures only to plunge to their deaths. Violations of these conditions and regulations will result in hefty fines.

"Any kind of changes to be done in the windows or balconies must require the approval of the municipality which would make sure such changes will not affect the security and safety of the children," he said.

He also said that incidents of child falls do not occur due to fault in specification of a building or its drawings, but rather due to negligence as many parents fail to take precautionary measures.

He added that parents must ensure that safety and security measures are strictly implemented at their homes. Small children and toddlers should never be left alone on balconies or near open windows. "They should always be accompanied by their elders and mothers should not depend on the maids all the times," he added.
TIMELINE OF FALLS IN 2016

January 8: Two-year-old girl falls to death from 7th floor in Dubai

A two-year-old Pakistani girl died after falling from the window of her seventh floor apartment in Dubai's Al Khail Gate community

February 4: Eight-year-old girl dies in fall in Sharjah

An eight-year-old Syrian girl died after falling from an eighth-floor apartment in Al Tawoun area of Sharjah.

May 3: Young girl falls to death from building in Sharjah

A three-year-old Pakistani girl died after falling from the seventh floor of a building in Al Qasimiya area in Sharjah

June 14: Four-year-old boy falls to death in Sharjah

A four-year-old Algerian boy died on the spot after he fell from his 18th floor flat at Sharjah's Al Buhaira corniche.

June 29: Boy seriously hurt after falling from building

A five-year-old boy sustained severe injuries after he fell from the window of an apartment in the Mamoura area.

August 2: Class 12 student falls to death in Sharjah

A 16-year-old Sudanese teenager died after falling from the fifth floor of her building in Sharjah on Sunday. The girl, a final grade student fell from a window of her room in the apartment.

December 14: Three-year-old girl falls to death from a building in Fujairah

A three-year-old Arab girl fell to her death from the third floor of her building in Fujairah. The girl reached an apartment window using a piece of furniture.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Lessons of child safety begin at home

• It's not easy for the parents to move on

• Proactive approach needed to protect children from falls

• Who is responsible for child falls: Parents or building owner?