Dubai: New mandatory fire-safety regulations could be in the offing following several deaths in two grisly Dubai fires recently, said a Dubai fire official on Sunday.
The new announcement comes after a fire broke out in a villa in Al Warqa on Friday and a five-year-old Emirati girl suffocated to death from thick smoke while five others were also injured in the incident.
Last month, Emirati twin sisters died and a baby and housemaid were injured in a fire that broke out in a villa in Al Twar area. The 20-year-old sisters also died as a result of suffocation due to the thick smoke caused by the fire.
A Dubai Civil Defence spokesperson told Gulf News that firefighting authorities are set to launch a campaign to raise awareness among villa owners about fire safety procedures and to force them to install fire safety equipment such as fire and smoke detectors inside their villas.
The spokesperson said that historically, most investigations into villa fires find that death and injury happens because villa owners and family are negligent and do not follow safety procedures.
“We will create an educational campaign for villa owners to raise their awareness about safety and will work closely with the authorities regarding issuing a law to force the owners to follow safety and precautionary measures which apply only to buildings and facilities now,” the spokesperson said, “The safety measures will help to reduce death and injuries due to fire accident.”
“We want people to know how to react during fires and what they should do first,” the official added.
According to Civil Defence they received a call last Friday about a fire at 12.40pm in a two-storey villa in Al Warqa. The girl died of suffocation and five others were injured.
“Her body had been burnt and her father suffered serious injuries as he jumped from the first floor. We reached the spot after seven minutes and managed to control it by 12.59,” the official said.
The injured, including three Emirati family members and two maids were rescued before firefighters finally brought the fire under control.
The fire happened in the middle of the house on the ground floor and then spread to the first floor.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but a Dubai Police official told Gulf News that they found charcoal in the middle of the house. The forensic team is investigating the incident to issue final report.
