Lack of inspections to blame for Dubai fires

Dubai: According to a Dubai police chief, warehouses such as the ones that recently caught fire do not meet safety standards and are hardly inspected, a Dubai police chief said on Thursday.

Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim's remarks came as a worker suffered serious burns following another blaze in Al Quoz industrial area. A warehouse stocking paints went ablaze at 11am, injuring the worker and a firefighter.

There has been a spate of fires recently. Three workers were killed when 83 warehouses were gutted in Al Quoz industrial area on March 26. On Wednesday, the Naif Souq, a landmark in Dubai, went up in flames.

Dahi said: "I see that inspections of such establishments are rare. Procedures are only carried out during the licensing process and after that there is no monitoring."Dahi, who was present at the spot, denied any connection between the three fires. He said there must be constant inspections of such warehouses. Most workers do not have a fair idea of general safety and do not realise that they are dealing with highly flammable substances.

Dahi called on civil defence officials to implement ministerial decisions and civil defence laws.

The Civil Defence's Operations Room received a report at 11.16am about a fire at a paints warehouse in Al Qouz industrial area. Firefighting and rescue teams arrived at the scene within minutes and started putting out the fire with the support of three teams from Al Qouz, Al Karama and Al Satwa civil defence stations. Brigadier Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, Director of Dubai Civil Defence, said firefighters doused the blaze at 1.30pm.

Meanwhile, Dubai Municipality has set up a committee to investigate the remains of Naif Souq and build a new one to replace the old market that was gutted in a massive fire. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Acting Director General of the municipality, has instructed an urgent plan be drawn up to provide a temporary shelter for the damaged shops, and stressed the need to swiftly complete the new market.