Pupils and hotel residents take part in fire drill

Dubai: The Civil Defence carried out two fire drills Wednesday- one at a school and one at a hotel as part of its annual plan to measure preparedness in case of emergencies.

Al Rashidiya and Al Ras Civil Defence Stations carried out two separate fire drills at Nad Al Hamar School and the Florida Hotel in Al Sabkha.

Each civil defence station carries out two fire drills a month in the areas of their jurisdiction. The Civil Defence and management of the organisations coordinated the events.

The fire drill at the school was based on 'a report' from the school's principal on a fire in the school's workshop with the possibility of a missing person.

When firefighters arrived they found flames with dense smoke rising from the building's first floor. The firefighters evacuated all school occupants to a safe assembly point.

The drill, which started at 10am, took 45 minutes.

At 9am on the same day, Al Ras firefighters carried out an evacuation on the fourth floor of the Florida Hotel. The drill was aimed at measuring the preparedness of the hotel and its fire safety team. The drill took 30 minutes.

The fire drills organised by the civil defence are aimed at examining the plans for the operation and evaluating the control and coordination between various parties, among other objectives. They are also aimed at measuring the response time and comparing it with the targeted response time.