UAE | General
Drive aims to reduce house fires
Residents to be alerted to possible dangers in home and importance of proper earthing of plugs.
- By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:16 June 29, 2009
Dubai: Overloading power plugs in the home can cause 'severe' accidents that lead to burnt plugs, electrical shocks or trip circuit breakers which is why more education is needed to protect residents from fires in the home, said the head of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).
According to a survey conducted by Duval Messien and Eros Group, who have partnered with Dewa to educate homeowners, a reported 70 per cent of people have experienced some electrical malfunction in the home that could have been avoided. However no statistics were available on the number of electrical fires that take place every year.
The Safe Home Campaign will start on Wednesday for 45 days spearheaded by Dewa and Messien to educate on and prevent fire incidents under the slogan 'Better Safe than Sorry'.
"Most accidents are predictable and preventable. This season in our Safe Home Campaign we will educate our consumers and keep them abreast on the dangers that can be avoided by following simple safety measures. Home is a special place &unfortunately, the home is also the most common place for young children to be injured," said Saeed Al Tayer, managing director, and chief executive officer of Dewa. "We would like to invite all consumers to participate in this campaign and make our place a safe place to dwell in."
Leaflets will be circulated during the campaign warning people of possible dangers in the house and the importance of proper earthing of electrical plugs. "We have seen a lot of improvements of regulations. Dewa inspects all points of supply, and check the earthing to minimise accidents. Negligence from customers themselves is usually the cause of accidents," said Al Tayer.
He added some developers or contractors may not follow rules which also leads to accidents down the line.
"We don't release the supply until everything is checked," he said.
Overloading plug points is the biggest problem in starting electrical fires in the home.
Tips: To keep homes safe, residents should:
- Use three-pin plugs.
- use only certified miniature circuit breaker devices and make sure appliances are plugged into sockets of suitable rating points.
- In case of a burning smell in sockets or an electrical sting, seek the help of a certified electrician.
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