Dubai: A centralised fire-alarm receiving centre that connects all UAE buildings, residential, commercial and villas, will be soon be introduced in the country.
The UAE Ministry of Interior represented by the Civil Defence Headquarters, in partnership with Injazat Data Systems, unveiled Hassantuk, the UAE’s smart monitoring, alert and control system.
It is the region’s largest automated integrated system for accelerating both emergency responses and building system repairs to ensure 24/7 public safety. It will connect buildings and facilities across the country to an automated alarm-receiving centre that can request the immediate dispatch of emergency response from Civil Defence for fire and other life-threatening incidents.
Major General Jasim Al Marzouqi, Ministry of Interior’s Commander of Civil Defence, said the new system is the largest automated, integrated fire and life-safety monitoring system of its kind in the region and it supports UAE Vision 2021’s goal of making the UAE one of the safest countries in the world.
“Hassantuk will connect more than 150,000 existing buildings and facilities round-the-clock to ensure the highest levels of building maintenance and safety and protect life and property. The project will include all the villas in the future,” Maj-Gen Al Marzouqi said.
The system picks up on smoke or any glitch in the fire safety system in buildings and alerts the civil defence’s nearest unit to deploy firefighters.
“Alarm transmission equipment will be connected to the building’s fire and life-safety systems to ensure that any emergency alarm is transmitted to a central Alarm Receiving Center (ARC) within milliseconds. A team of professional ARC operators will verify if the alarm is genuine and will report all valid emergencies to the Civil Defence Main Operations Room so that the appropriate assistance can be dispatched immediately,” he added.
After installing the system in buildings, it will be rolled out to all houses.
One of the unique features of the system is that it identifies the specific type of emergency and its exact location as well as provides intelligence for the building. These features enable the Civil Defence to dispatch the right personnel and equipment to the right place.
The first buildings will be connected to Hassantuk by the first quarter of 2018, with all installations to be completed by 2023.
Khaled Al Melhi, Chief Executive Officer at Injazat Data Systems, said that this system will help to dramatically reduce the current average emergency response time of around 13 minutes.
“Civil Defence will be fully aware of any fire or life-safety emergency in less than 120 seconds allowing the appropriate assistance to be dispatched immediately,” Al Melhi said.
Lieutenant Colonel Ali Hassan Al Mutawa, Assistant General Manager for Smart Services at Dubai Civil Defence, said the system will initially focus on critical national infrastructure, buildings of national importance, buildings at risk, and other priority buildings including schools, hospitals and public places.
“After the system is adopted by Dubai Civil Defence, it will be for all UAE. Subscription to Hassantuk is mandated by UAE Cabinet resolution,” Lt Col Al Mutawa said.
Officials said the project is useful for building owners as it will secure the building and reduce the insurance on fires.
Smoke detector installation in houses will be mandatory by 2018 in the UAE.
“We will ask all villa owners to install smoking detectors in their houses and the need for them to be connected to a panel that can alert firefighters. All houses in the UAE must have smoke detectors by 2018,” Maj-Gen Al Marzouqi said.
Primary objectives of Hassantuk
To accelerate and optimise the Civil Defence response to fire and emergency events by eliminating false alarms and providing emergency services with situational awareness and building intelligence.
Enforce a proactive maintenance regime across every building’s fire and life-safety systems, reducing the impact of any emergency and creating safer communities.
Hassantuk is a fully automated solution that provides round-the-clock smart building monitoring and surveillance, ensuring the highest levels of safety for people and property across the UAE.
