Saturday, Jul 11, 2009

Dubai: Every civil defence station in Dubai is required to undertake four to five rescue drills in their area under a Safety Project, a senior official said.

The objective is to give the public first-hand experience in how to deal with it and the precautions to be taken in case of a fire.

Watch video: Playing with fire

"The project was enforced a couple of years back and it is proving to be quite effective," said Major Ali Hassan Mutawa'a, head of operations at the Civil Defence in Dubai and head of the project.

"The Civil Defence is required to undertake these fire drills in various establishments like schools, hospitals, warehouses etc."

Mutawa'a attended a fire drill on Thursday at the Zulekha Hospital in Al Nahda.

It involved 288 hospital staff and a scenario in which four patients were trapped.

The drill began with organisers from the hospital staff in orange vests at the assembly area and evacuation exits. Smoke was generated by a machine on the first floor. A call was then made to the emergency number 999.

In less than five minutes the staff were seen evacuating people from the building to the assembly area.

At the same time, paramedics and the fire brigade arrived at the scene. Dressed in yellow uniforms, the firemen rushed to the first floor and attended to the fire.

Mehyar Mohammad, one of the organisers from the Civil Defence in Al Qusais, said: 'This year the Al Qusais division of Civil Defence has completed 21 fire drills so far. Carrying out a drill at a hospital is a first time for our division. The response from the hospital was impressive."

Ian Hudson, station officer, said: "We learnt of the fire drill just 20 minutes before it started."

Terming the fire drill a 90 per cent success, Lt. Majid Bin Hafadh from Al Qusais Civil Defence said that the only thing that needs to be enhanced by the hospital during such incidents is communication between the staff.

Be aware : Five most common causes of fire

1. Short circuit
2. Faulty cooking gas cylinders
3. Unattended burning candles and cigarettes
4. Flammable materials exposed to heat
5. Firecrackers stored in warehouses without safety precautions

Major fires in the UAE

By Sunita Menon and Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporters

Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.