Abu Dhabi: The UAE is on the top of the list of countries worldwide when it comes to fire safety, international statistics show.
The UAE has scored a fire death rate of 0.023 deaths per 10,000 people in 2010-2014 — showing dramatic improvement which puts the country in a better position than many countries in the industrialised world such as France, UK, Japan, Sweden and United States, according to a recent report by the Paris-based International Association of Fire and Rescue Service.
“This fire death rate does show large improvements against many countries investigated, but the Government is determined to achieve the highest ranking with the lowest fire death rate in the world — a strategic approach undertaken by the Ministry of Interior that embodies its diligent vision for the UAE to become the safest and most secure country in the world,” Lt Gen Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, told the first meeting of the UAE Happiness and Positivity Council.
This is in line with the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to create happy and positive work environments in all government entities.
The meeting chaired by Shaikh Saif discussed a number of security-related initiatives.
Lt Gen Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, emphasised the ministry’s commitment to support police entities and sectors that are taking part in the formulation of future plans, through brainstorming and planning future visions, transforming innovative ideas into realistic action plans, and investing such plans in government work to boost efficiency and upgrade performance levels.
“This would provide citizens with the best government services, which contribute to enhance the quality of life and the quality of services, in line with the objectives of the UAE Vision 2021,” Lt Gen Al Mazeina said.
Major General Jasem Mohammad Al Marzouqi, General Commander of the Civil Defence, said the 2017-2021 strategy aims at reducing fire incidents by 10 per cent and the fire death ratio per 10,000 people by 15 per cent.
Al Marzouqi said that fire incidents were reduced by 24 per cent and the average fire deaths by 77 per cent during the first half of this year, compared with the corresponding period of last year.
“The average number of fire deaths per 10,000 people in 2010-2014 in the United States was 41.6 fires and 0.098 deaths, in the UK 41.2 fires and 0.059 deaths, in France 45.8 fires and 0.056 deaths, Sweden 25.4 fires and 0.1 deaths, in Japan 3.6 fires and 0.13 deaths, which show that the UAE has exceeded many advanced countries.
The meeting also discussed the challenges related to the reliability of police services indicator, identifying the authorities concerned with achieving the indicator and the extent to which it is activated by the concerned authorities, and emphasising the importance of cooperation with strategic partners in order to fulfil the objectives of the UAE Vision 2021.
Attendees including Lieutenant General Saif Al Shafar, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, deputy chairman of Dubai Police and General Security. Major General Dr Nasser Al Nuaimi, secretary-general of Interior Minister’s Office, reiterated the ministry’s commitment to ensure that the UAE remains a role model of modernity and development by supporting the march of excellence, which is an essential requirement today in order to reach a more secure, stable and pleasant life.
