Thursday, May 03, 2012
Gulf News
Dubai New skyscrapers in Dubai will have safer exterior cladding that can withstand fire thanks to new rules issued by authorities in the wake of a series of high-rise fires.
Dubai Municipality is moving to ban flammable cladding tiles following the Al Baker and Al Tayer tower incidents in Sharjah, Gulf News has learnt.
Documents obtained yesterday reveal that municipal building officials have served builders and contractors notice that only fire-retardant panels can be used to complete facades of residential and office towers.
The circular was issued on April 29, a day after a fire ravaged the 40-storey Al Tayer Tower in Sharjah, prompting residents to question the safety of using cladding panels on the buildings.
Risky scenario
One expert estimates that more than 500 skyscrapers across the UAE are covered with non fire-retardant cladding.
Khalid Mohammad Saleh, Director of Dubai Municipality’s Buildings Department, wrote in his advisory that the new rule is intended to protect the public. “All material used in the construction process, including building fronts, must make use of non-flammable materials as per the requirements of Dubai Municipality, Civil Defence and global standards,” he said.
Contractors and engineers must participate in “designing, installing and testing building fronts in order to ensure that they prevent the spreading of a blaze between floors and on the building fronts”.
Saleh also instructed that builders must adhere to “the importance of filling the space between cladding panels with non-flammable material to prevent the spreading of flames between floors”.
The notice stresses that all material used on the facades of buildings should have a conformity certificate from the Dubai Central Laboratory, which states that the materials are up to Dubai Municipality, Civil Defence and global standards.
Gulf News has obtained a copy of the Building Terms and Specifications by-law for Sharjah, but was unable to find any reference relating to fire-retardant cladding panels.
By Mariam M. Al Serkal?Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.
