Dubai: The Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) tragedy of a child falling from a high-rise building was still fresh in people's minds when they heard news of a four-year-old Egyptian girl plunging to death from the 15th floor of an apartment in Sharjah. In less than a week of this incident a three-year-old boy fell from the 14th floor of an apartment in Sharjah.
The incidents have alarmed the authorities, while raising questions in the minds of residents about their safety in high-rises.
The authorities have informed Gulf News about the safety rules that have been put into place in order with a view to prevent such incidents.
"The municipality and Town Planning Department have taken action and a rule has already been implemented where new buildings are required to install concrete or aluminium bars in balconies that should not be lower than 1.20 metres," said Sultan Al Mualla, Director General of Sharjah Municipality.
Regulations
"We have international safety regulations in place and we make sure that these are adhered to, right from the stage of design to granting approvals for final construction," said Marwan Abdulla Al Mohammed, Head of Engineeering Supervision Section, Dubai Municipality. The opening of the window should be at least 90 centimetres above the floor level. He said the height of balcony handrail should also not be less than the prescribed 90 cm.
The Department of Municipal Affairs, Abu Dhabi, is working to put in place a unified set of codes, known as the Abu Dhabi Building Codes, to address this issue.
"Once finalised, the codes will not only indicate the way that buildings are constructed but also introduce additional measures that need to be taken in apartments occupied by families with children," said Fatima Amer, consultant to the DMA on the development of the Abu Dhabi Building Codes.
Brochures
The Higher Committee for Child Protection at the Ministry of Interior has announced that it is reviewing buildings' safety and security marks and specifications.
The child protection centre at the Ministry of Interior prepared brochures to increase awareness, in Arabic, English, and Urdu which focus on protecting children from falling off buildings with a number of safety pointers
"There have been accidents involving children falling from buildings in the past, but in the last five years, we've strictly implemented a ‘Life Safety Code', whereby we ensure that windows in buildings, residential and otherwise, can't be opened fully or in such a way that may pose a risk of a child accidentally leaning over and falling out," said Mohammad Al Nuaimi, Director General, Abu Dhabi Civil Defence.
While the authorities do their bit by ensuring that safety norms are adhered to, negligence on the part of residents cannot be overlooked.
"The falls cannot be blamed on the engineering and design of buildings [alone], because Dubai buildings are new and designed according to the highest international standards," said Brigadier Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Director of Dubai Police's Criminal Investigation Department.
"One of the most important reasons behind these falls is parental negligence," Brig Al Mansouri said.
Open spaces and windows need to be secure, but, at the same time, parents too need to observe caution. "Unless you secure the open spaces, accidents like these will continue. Parents should not allow their children to play in balconies if the building is old and not safe. Chairs should not be left in balconies because a child can easily climb on it and fall over the balcony," said a Sharjah Police spokesperson.
By Samihah Zaman, Shveta Pathak, Mariam M Al Serkal, Dina Aboul Hosn, Janice Ponce de Leon and Nathalie Farah, Staff Reporters of Gulf News
