Sharjah industrial area a 'time bomb' waiting to explode

Sharjah: The chief of firefighting forces has warned that the Sharjah industrial area is a 'time bomb' and wants to see harsher penalties for those who break safety rules.

"What do you get now: a warning and a Dh500 fine? That's not enough," he said in response to criticism of the running of the Civil Defence services from members of the Sharjah Consultative Council.

Brigadier Mohammad Salem Bin Kardous Al Amiri, head of Civil Defence at the Ministry of Interior, said in the future businessmen and landlords might have to share in the cost of putting out a fire. He said it is now under study whether such a cost-sharing measure is feasible.

He said it is also being studied whether to privatise the Civil Defence, specially for fighting fires in residential towers, the industrial areas and the areas being developed offshore in various emirates.

He said the sprawling industrial area in Sharjah is a problem that the Civil Defence cannot solve alone and called for cooperation from the municipality, town planning and the economic department.

Risk managers from insurance companies had earlier told Gulf News that the industrial areas number one to seven were built before stringent civil defence fire safety rules were put in place. Many of the small businesses and warehouses are virtual firetraps, they had warned.

The fire chief responded to photographs displayed by Ahmad Suwaidi, a consultative council member, that showed gross violations of fire safety rules at warehouses in the industrial area, and said there are not enough fire inspectors available. "We have 177 firefighters and 15 inspectors in Sharjah," he said, and blamed the lack of resources and money available to the civil defence.

When members asked him why Sharjah needs assistance from firefighters from neighbouring emirates, he again pointed to the lack of resources.

He said the budget shortage is severe and called for assistance from the Sharjah government. "The challenges are huge and asking us alone to overcome them is impossible," he said. "Why are the rent contracts of those who violate civil defence rules renewed?" he asked. Al Amiri faced the Council members along with Colonel Gareeb Shaaban, Director General of the Sharjah Civil Defence.

Insurance company executives had said the numbers of fires in the UAE are too high compared to the size of the emirate.