Recently, while picking a friend from the Deira area, Dubai, I noticed with shock that the balconies of a building were full of junk and unused materials. It appeared as if the balconies were used to store items that were probably not required or were extra that the tenants did not want to part with.
To me, it seemed like an accident waiting to happen. This could be a big fire hazard. If a cigarette butt lands on it, a fire could break out. I am concerned about the safety of the residents. They may not be aware of the consequences of their actions and should start taking the issue of their safety seriously.
At the same time the concerned authorities should take action at the earliest to bring about this awareness.
Recently, I have read the news about the sufferings of the tenants of a tower that caught fire in Al Nahda area in Sharjah. Most of them lost all their belongings in the fire and spent a few nights in camps built by the authorities. They suffered financially and psychologically and had a lot of difficulty in relocating and restarting their life. Many such incidents of loss of life due to fire have also been reported in the newspapers.
The reader is an engineer based in Sharjah.
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