Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Interior (Moi) on Wednesday officially launched a new smart fire safety project in the capital, to provide end-to-end fire safety solutions in every villa in the UAE.
The new project, called ‘Hassantuk for Villas’, is a major initiative linking homes to the civil defence operation rooms, to alert them in the event of a fire.
Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior, launched the project in the capital.
Hassantuk (“Protect You” in Arabic) optimises fire and emergency response through a fire alarm system connected 24x7, using advanced Artificial Intelligence smart technologies.
The existing Hassantuk website incorporates plenty of new details for linking all kinds of residential and commercial establishments in the country to civil defence operation centres.
Now, residents, outlets and offices can also get their premises linked to the civil defence, within just two days after registering on the website.
If a person has a villa comprising of four bed rooms, living room and a kitchen, it would cost approximately Dh5,814 to install the fire alarm system, the ministry said. The price includes installation charges and two years’ monitoring and maintenance by the civil defence.
Speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of the launch, Captain Humaid Abdullah Al Ali, Director of Hassantuk Project at the MoI’s Civil Defence directorate, said: “This is an approximate price, but it may go up or down as per the number of rooms and size of the villa, residential apartment or any establishment.”
He clarified that those who can’t afford the installation cost will receive assistance from Moi.
Explaining the services, Capt Al Ali said that after two years, the owners have to pay a total of Dh415 annually for M2M [Machine To Machine] technology.
The M2M technology will work even in case of electricity and WiFi breakdown.
Even the signal will never shut down, whether you pay or not because it involves protecting people’s lives, he said.
Since June this year, 1,200 villas have been linked to the civil defence’s operation room under the Hassantuk project.
Etisalat is the service provider for the Hassantuk for Villas project, and has done special networking for the project.
WHO CAN REGISTER?
Properties that can register on the website include residential villas, warehouses, hotels, residential blocks and towers, commercial properties, educational institutions, shopping malls, retail outlets, offices, banks, medical centres, industrial premises and government entities.
WHAT IS HASSANTUK?
A cutting-edge building safety solution protecting lives and properties across the UAE through the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) operators who verify if an alarm is genuine or false, in less than 120 seconds.
The project aims to support the UAE National Agenda 2021 to become the safest country in the world, and to sustain the results of reduced fires and deaths, compared to other countries.
It’s the largest and first project of its kind in the region, targeting more than 500,000 buildings and private housing linked to civil defence.
THE WEBSITE
hassantuk.moi.gov.ae/index-en.html (call toll free number 80022220 for more details).
PAST DEADLIEST FIRE INCIDENTS:
In January 2018, seven children of an Emirati family, including five-year-old twins, suffocate to death after a fire breaks out in their house in Rol Dhadna district in Fujairah, which prompted rulers of the country to implement stronger and quicker fire safety system in all villas, buildings and commercial entities of the country.
Recently, eight members of an Emirati family died in a Baniyas villa fire in Abu Dhabi. Both incidents occurred due to electrical short circuits.
MAJOR FIRES IN THE UAE
October 2, 2018: Eight members of an Emirati family die in Baniyas villa fire in Abu Dhabi.
January 22, 2018: Seven children of an Emirati family suffocate to death after a fire breaks out in their house in Rol Dhadna district in Fujairah.
December 16, 2017: A worker dies in a fire that breaks out in Factory Mart, in Ajman Industrial Mart.
May 5, 2017: Two Pakistani brothers, aged six and eight, die in a fire in their shared house in Al Ghafya area, Sharjah.
April 14, 2017: Two Asian men suffocate to death and five others are injured in a fire in Al Manama Supermarket, Sharjah.
April 7, 2017: A five-year-old girl suffocates to death in a fire at a villa in Al Warqa’a, Dubai. Five others are injured.
March 14, 2017: Twin Emirati sisters, aged 20, suffocate to death in a villa fire in Al Twar area, Dubai.
January 6, 2017: Three workers die in a fire in a furniture warehouse in Kalba industrial area.
December 11, 2016: A 57-year-old Emirati woman dies in a villa fire in Ras Al Khaimah.
October 22, 2016: An Emirati mother and her two daughters suffocate to death in a Sharjah villa fire.
August 24, 2016: A grandmother, her daughter and baby grand-daughter are injured in a gas cylinder explosion that ripped through their flat in Al Khail Gate, Dubai. The grandmother dies later in hospital.
June 6: A mother and her two daughters die in a house fire in Al Ghafya area, Sharjah.
September 8, 2015: Two tenants die and one is severely injured as they try to escape a fire in a one-bedroom apartment in England Cluster, International City.
February 20: 11 are killed and seven injured in a massive fire that erupts in car and tyre shops in a two-storey building in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi.
