Where safety is the first and last word

Safety comes first for Dubai Civil Defence.

Apart from fighting fires, the department strives to resolve many other safety-related issues.

The department, located near Ghusais Police station, has two main divisions: licensing and transactions sections.

Civil Defence has to approve the safety measures of any new building, whether it is a hotel, school, petrol station or warehouse.

licensing of buildings is the most important service offered by the department.

Builders after getting approval for the construction of a structure must then get the Civil Defence nod on the safety precautions of the building before the actual work begins.

"An engineer brings the building designs for approval before construction starts," said Mahmoud Hamad, Head of Information and Documentation Unit of Dubai Civil Defence.

"A building cannot be used until the Civil Defence approves the safety precautions. After that, electricity and water connections are provided," he added.

The licensing division also grants licences for trade, tourism, seasonal vacation boats, yachts, tents for weddings, ect.

The Civil Defence also gives licences to transport hazardous materials and fireworks.

"We also supervise many local companies and vehicles that carry gas cylinders," said Staff Sergeant Mohammad Ebrahim, supervisor at the prevention counter.

The Civil Defence has counters at the Dubai Municipality and the Department of Economic Development (DED).

"Transactions are completed by the municipality and referred to us, while the licences come from the DED. Other departments such as the Ministry of Finance, Labour and Naturalisation and Residency Department also refer transactions to us," said Staff Sergeant Ebrahim.

He said some transactions get completed at the municipality. A Civil Defence engineer posted at the civic department makes work easier for customers.

The services that can be completed at the Civil Defence counters include engineering projects, comprehensive safety, building and direct alarm system, hazardous materials, licence approval, technical specifications, no objection certificates, technical test and follow-up on violations.

The direct alarm system is connected to the Civil Defence and sends alarms about smoke or fire. It gives exact information of the building, the fastest way to get to it and the materials in the building, which helps to determine the kind of equipment needed to put out a fire.

Currently, it is obligatory for commercial buildings to fix direct alarms and optional for residential buildings and villas.

"It is one of the main services we offer and the number of people applying for it is increasing day by day," said Hamad.

"During this year, we will move to the smart systems of monitoring protected buildings.

"It is one of the most developed programmes in the world as we get to detect the fire or the smoke even without a report from the residents," he added.

Hamad said they can even detect fire if the system breaks down or has been switched off.

He said these systems save the time taken to report the fire and determine the location.

Service
Counters to handle all transactions

There are many counters set up by the Civil Defence to complete various transactions including licensing, finalising transactions, prevention and direct alarm.

"We handle more than 100 different transactions daily,"

said Staff Sergeant Mohammad Ebrahim. "Currently, there are eight attendants at the counters and others inside the offices," he added.

The counters are open on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday from 7:45am to 1:30pm, and on Sunday and Tuesday from 7:45am to 1pm.

More counters will be added in the future to provide better services and cater to a bigger number of customers.