Friday, Oct 31, 2008
Gulf News
Umm Al Quwain: A faulty bathroom heater nearly brought down a house in Umm Al Quwain, police said.
The house belonging to an Emirati family suffered extensive damage when the heater exploded, but there were no casualties as the family was not home at the time.
Lieutenant Colonel Ali Bin Sarim, Director of Civil Defence, said the operations room received a call about an explosion in a neighbourhood in the Al Lazeema area.
Many sections of the house were completely destroyed, the officer said, and called on residents to take all precautions when using electric appliances.
"Heaters should only be turned on when necessary and always used in the correct temperature range, which is between 60-70 degrees.
"When left unmonitored for long periods, water in the heater will vaporise as the temperature approaches 90 degrees and will cause the heater to explode," he said.
Manufacturing defects and bad maintenance could also result in grave consequences and residents were advised to pay heed to the state of electrical appliances to avoid any bitter experiences, he said.
Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.
