Doha - A fire drill was held at a tower on The Pearl-Qatar's Porto Arabia development. The evacuation drill aimed at upgrading awareness of safety, protection and training of personnel on how to face emergencies and act appropriately in case of a fire.
The United Development Company (UDC), the owner and developer of the more than QR50bn project, planned the drill and it was executed by the General Administration of the Civil Defence in collaboration with various departments of the Ministry of Interior (MOI).
The drill on Wednesday started with the ringing of an emergency alarm announcing a fire in apartment 305 on the 19th floor of a tower. The fire extinguisher team equipped with the latest equipment rushed to the site along with an ambulance and security patrol vehicles. After evacuating people, the team entered the building using hydraulic scales to rescue people in the 19th floor and above. They helped people make their way out of the building and treated those who had inhaled smoke.
Yousef Saad Al Kubaisi, Director of Security and Safety at The Pearl-Qatar, said the drill aimed at testing the emergency systems in preparation for the island's opening for its new residents in the near future.
"We are testing our safety and fire systems to get better understanding of how the safety and fire-fighting systems work," Al Kubaisi added.
Staff Brigadier Abdullah Mohamed Al Suwaidi, the Director-General of Civil Defence Authority, said the drill was "a huge success". The exercise is part of the regular training for effective fire control and evacuation of people during fires, the official added.
© The Peninsula 2009
