New, more stringent fire safety regulations for buildings have entered into force in the UAE.
Dubai, UAE. New fire safety standards, requiring builders to reduce the amount of flammable cladding materials, have entered into force throughout the UAE. This measure was a response to numerous fires that occurred last year and earlier in high-rise buildings - in particular, in Dubai and Ajman.
According to the Dubai Civil Defense Committee, a rule has emerged that obliges gradually to completely abandon flammable materials when facing building facades. In particular, old buildings will move to new safety standards when the time comes for their major repairs.
"We are confident that we will switch to the safest cladding in the world. We have tightened the requirements for building materials and suppliers and even the responsibility of consultants," said Lieutenant Tahir Al Tahir.
The adopted UAE Fire and Life Protection Code describes the installation procedures for cladding and contains detailed requirements for suppliers and manufacturers of materials, as well as consultants, and provides liability for violations. So, the fine for those who violate the norms for the first time will be 50 thousand dirhams (US $ 13.7 thousand).
A key innovation is that now builders will be required to conduct regular maintenance of the cladding panels and replace them after a specified period. For all types of cladding, a timeline for operation and maintenance standards have been approved.
Under the new rules, affected buildings with flammable panels will be required to change them all, and not just those that have been damaged by the flame. According to the Director General of the Civil Defense Committee of Dubai, Major General Rashid Al Matrushi, practice has shown that most of the fires began with the facades of buildings, which forced the authorities to introduce new standards.
He also clarified the increase in the number of fires due to short circuits in the wiring. According to him, fire departments are working on the introduction of nanotechnology, which will allow to extinguish a fire instantly, and insulation materials that will not allow the flame to spread.
In particular, we are talking about a new generation of fire extinguishers, the size of which is only 2 square meters. see. Unlike standard fire extinguishers, they spray fire gas as soon as the sensor detects an increase in temperature. It is expected that the technology will be presented to the public in March this year.
It should be noted that public unrest in Dubai intensified after a series of major fires. Among them are the fire at the Address Downtown Dubai on New Year's Eve 2015, a fire in the Sulafa Tower in July 2016, in the Torch skyscraper in the Dubai Marina area in February 2015, and some others.
