UAE | Emergencies
Al Baker Tower 4 blaze prompts building code revamp in Sharjah
Construction companies to be liable for fire safety and quality of materials
- By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 February 17, 2012
- Image Credit: Javed Nawab/Gulf News archive
- Al Baker Tower 4 in Sharjah’s Al Taawun area. The new building codes will apply to all buildings in residential, commercial and industrial areas across the emirate.
Sharjah: The municipality is expected to implement a new set of buildings codes in Sharjah so that fire accidents such as the recent one that gutted Al Baker Tower 4 can be avoided.
The new building codes will apply to all buildings in residential, commercial and industrial areas across the emirate.
"We are studying all specifications and are making changes to the quality specifications of construction materials," Sultan Al Mualla, director of Sharjah Municipality, told Gulf News.
"We are amending the rules so that it will be easier and safer for tenants to live in residential buildings, and the responsibility of fire safety standards will be with the construction company," he stressed.
No exceptions
Al Mualla pointed out that, once the building code is approved, it will be applicable to all new buildings. At the same time, it will also become binding on older buildings to put in place alternative arrangements, he added.
"Safety is our priority and, for all new buildings, we will ensure that fibreglass, aluminium and wooden parts are not being used in a way that can pose a safety hazard," Al Mualla said.
The safety measures came into focus after the Sharjah Civil Defence, in its investigation, found the quality of construction materials to be the main factor in the fire spreading rapidly across the rear façade of the 25-storey Al Baker Tower 4. Nearly 135 families were displaced by the blaze.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of yesterday's meeting between Sharjah Municipality and Sharjah Civil Defence which discussed mechanisms for implementing the national campaign for building safety initiated at the behest of Lt Gen Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
The meeting was attended by Brigadier Abdullah Al Suwaidi, director of Sharjah Civil Defence.
Inspection visits
Within the next week, inspection teams of the municipality will start visiting buildings in industrial areas to ensure that they are abiding by safety norms.
Sharjah Municipality is also looking at new rules to ensure safer balconies following several reported cases of high-rise tragedies involving children last December, Al Mualla said.
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