509 warnings so far in fire safety blitz

FIRE SAFETY: More than 500 warnings have been given in a Civil Defence campaign in Dubai.

The Civil Defence in Dubai has so far handed out 509 warnings and ordered 245 further inspections in a crackdown on fire safety at industrial buildings.

The move follows a series of industrial fires this year, including one which gutted 80 warehouses and caused damage estimated $272 million, UAE daily The National reported on Wednesday.

Ten teams of inspectors have carried out 3,683 fire-safety inspections in industrial establishments, handing out 509 warnings and ordering further investigations of 245 sites.

Exposed electrical wires, improperly stored flammable materials and blocked emergency exits were among the potentially lethal problems found by inspectors.

About 90 per cent of labour camps, where hundreds or thousands of workers live, had no fire alarms and in 80 per cent of them cooking-gas cylinders were kept in buildings where the workers lived and slept.

Owners who fail to address hazards identified in their buildings can be fined up to 50,000 dirhams and the business may be shut down if they fail to set matters right within a set time, which can be as little as two weeks.

The massive warehouse fire in Al Quoz in March, which killed two people and took days to extinguish, was caused by the explosion of fireworks illegally stored in a warehouse.

Civil defence experts plan a second phase of inspections, which will take place at hospitals, hotels and public buildings.

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