Sharjah: As many as 1,000 industrial and residential facilities have received warnings from Sharjah Civil Defence Department for ignoring fire safety regulations.
Colonel Nasser Bin Hindi, Director of the Protection and Safety Department at Sharjah Civil Defence, said companies found in violation of fire safety regulations could be fined up to Dh50,000 as part of a safety campaign in Sharjah city.
As many as 800 industrial facilities and 200 residential buildings were given warnings before the imposition of hefty fines.
They were given a period of two weeks to two months to amend their conditions and remove any possible violations, he said.
The purpose of the inspections is to minimise fire incidents in the emirate.
If the situation does not improve, the owners will be fined and must agree in writing to solve the problem with a certain period. If the problem persists, the company will be closed until all its violations are corrected.
He said the inspections were targeting residential, industrial and commercial facilities as well as workers’ housing, adding that in the past week several irregularities had been found and warnings issued.
All civil defence teams across the UAE have started the implementation of Cabinet resolution No 24 of 2012, which stipulates that all facilities and state buildings should undergo electronic inspections, and the decision of the Ministry of Interior No 505, 2012 on civil defence services and obliged those companies to supply engineers and technicians.
Most of those companies failed to meet these conditions and did not renew their licence.
He pointed out that any maintenance contract should be approved by the Civil Defence Department.
The department is intensifying inspections to ensure businesses follow the rules.
“We are doing our best to keep Sharjah free of fire accidents during 2014,” he added.
