New fire legislation to be enforced

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Fire on Sheikh Zayed Road last month. It’s not just buildings under construction the new law will effect, old buildings will also have to comply too.

Brigadier Matrooshi reveals fire safety laws will be updated.

The director of Dubai Civil Defence has revealed that fire safety standards in buildings in Dubai will be updated over the next couple of weeks to match international ones.

In an exclusive interview with facilities management Middle East, Brigadier Rashid Thani Al Matrooshi said: "The legislation has already been written, it is going to be briefly announced to the concerned parties and after that, they are going to wait a week before announcing it."

The implementation of these standards will mean that the most advanced technological fire fighting systems will be installed in the building during the construction phase.

He also revealed that old buildings will have to undergo renovation so they too comply with the legislation.

"Owners of old buildings are going to be instructed that they too have to be linked with the Dubai Civil Defence main operation room. They must have an intelligent system that immediately alerts us to a problem. From being stuck in a elevator to a fire fighting systems failure, we have to be informed," he explained.

The Civil Defence will also be alerted if the facilities managers are not carrying out checks or maintenance of the building and its equipment.

For a facilities manager, the legislation will ensure that the best systems and equipment are installed in the building prior to the buildings completion.

By doing this, the FM should be able to plan the most effective and efficient evacuation policies and procedures.

Mick Dalton, senior director asset management of Emaar said: "What helps me afterwards is having a properly prepared emergency plan upfront, proper handover of systems, proper training, proper induction and proper O&M (operation and maintenance) manuals before we go live in the building. They are the key things that any facilities manager wants before the building is handed over."

The Brigadier warned that failure to comply with the updated legislation could result in companies being taken to court and in worst cases, losing their business.

"It's not their choice to remove or reject the legislation, they are forced to apply. If they don't, they will not be approved by us," he stated.

Jayant Joshi, facilities manager, Enoc agreed that the legislation was needed. "Most people in the industry have been expecting this for some time now, following the recent number of fires Dubai has experienced and it is about time there was some legislation in force," he said.

"Having said that all good FMs should already be following a sophisticated set procedure to minimise the risks of a fire breaking out."

Dubai Festival City assets manager, Venkatraman Rajamani believes that even more should be done. "Standard evacuation procedures should be mandatory in all buildings.

"Companies should practice fire drills on a regular basis and there should be trained fire marshals in all big buildings who are properly qualified to use the equipment and ready to deal with the difficult situation should a fire occur. I'm very pleased that this new legislation is about to come into being and hopefully it will address these issues," he said.

Not everyone is convinced however. "I hope that this legislation doesn't prove to be a white elephant and a PR stunt following the number of fires in the city. The cost of retrofitting buildings is huge and I doubt all the landlords in the city will have the kind of money to invest in these changes. I will also be interested to see how the authorities will police such legislation," said Paul Grinnall, sales director, DSL.

Read more about fire safety in the April issue of facilities management Middle East.

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