Sharjah Civil Defence officials conducted a workshop Sunday with the Sharjah Municipality that involved teaching municipal officials the consequences of using non fire-retardant materials on high-rise buildings.
"We are now working side by side with the Civil Defence on how to reduce the number of fires in high-rise buildings, and are also learning how easily a fire can spread throughout the building," an official at Sharjah Municipality said.
The official said there are a variety of factors that can contribute to a fire, such as windows, electrical wiring, cladding and adhesives used.
"The problem we face is when contractors claim they are using fire-retardant materials and provide us with a certificate that proves it. However, when the time comes for the contractors to install the fire-retardant materials, they are not up to the standard, and we are unaware about their bogus claims until a fire breaks out," the official added.
Sharjah Municipality is holding negotiations with Civil Defence and the Department of Town Planning on imposing new mechanisms that will enforce further responsibility on contractors and hold them liable if they install non fire-retardant materials while the certificates claim otherwise.
