Sunday 12 June 2011:
Civil Defence warns against summer fires
The Directorate General of Civil Defence in Abu Dhabi warned against violation of safety instructions inside villas, houses, residences and other facilities during the moths of summer.
Colonel Mohammed Abdullah Al Nuaimi, acting director- general of Civil Defence and director of Emergency and Public Safety Department of Abu Dhabi Police affirmed that the strategy of Civil Defence aims at preserving security and safety through delivery of best services and achieving the highest levels of customer satisfaction.
He pointed out that Civil Defence is fully prepared to deal with all emergency situations and accidents. Our stations that are supplied with advanced equipment and trained personnel but the cooperation of the public is still the first line of defence against accidents, he added
Referring to the blaze that occurred in Al Jimi district in Al Ain last May and killed a woman and her baby, he said that investigation revealed violations of faulty wiring caused the fire following an electrical overload in the house that had been illegally subdivided.
The garage of the house had also been converted into a bedroom that is occupied by 13 persons.
He added that this accident has been handled professionally by civil defence personnel, denying the statements of some local and foreign media which doubted the preparedness of the civil defence.
He emphasized that the awareness programs during the national campaign of family safety has achieved massive success. The number of accidents have dropped compared to previous years.
Lieutenant Colonel Rashed Hamareain Al Darmaki, head of Al Ain Civil Defense, stated that the civil defense team handled the fire professionally as they reached the spot within five minutes, put out the fire and evacuated the injured people within 15 minutes.
They saved 14 lives including the house maid and succeeded in the fire from spreading to nearby houses. They saved 14 lives including the house maid and succeeded in the fire from spreading to nearby houses.
Al Darmaki sated that the reason behind the fire is “flagrant violations of safety and conditions.”
He revealed that the civil defense awareness teams had visited the family of the house more than on time through the National Campaign of the Families’ Safety which has currently launched all over the country including Al Ain city.
While trying to put out the fire, the fire fighters noticed some cables on the ground and had to call the electricity authority to disconnect the power supply.
Colonel Mohammed Abdullah Al Nuaimi, acting director- general of Civil Defence and director of Emergency and Public Safety Department of Abu Dhabi Police announced that from 20 December to June 2nd, the teams visited 91.328 houses across the emirate of Abu Dhabi. He appealed on all segments of the community to benefit from this campaign.
Civil defence teams managed to put out 430 fires in Abu Dhabi and A Ain during the last five months, stated Al Nuaimi who mentioned more than 15 causes of house fires important of which are:
• House workers are unaware of safety codes
• Some housewives prepare electric and regular censers and then forget them while talking on the phone for longer hours
• Failure to close gas valves tightly
• Leaving cocking oil on the fire for longer period
• Leaving electrical appliances in the on position for prolonged periods
• Lack of fire extinguishers in the houses
• Keeping inflammable materials such as petrol inside the houses.
• Installing extra transformers, a