DUBAI: Dubai will supervise construction crews more strictly and monitor the material they use after a series of skyscraper fires, including a New Year’s Eve blaze that made headlines around the world, a top civil defense official said Wednesday.
Speaking to The Associated Press, the director-general of Dubai Civil Defense said authorities in the United Arab Emirates have been working on new fire safety regulations following the Dec. 31 inferno at the 63-story The Address Downtown Dubai.
While trying to downplay the danger, Maj. Gen. Rashid Thani Al-Matrooshi acknowledged that at least 30,000 buildings across the nation have cladding or paneling similar to the kind that safety and construction experts have blamed for the rapid spread of the fires.
“There won’t be any radical changes, but instead we’ll come up with simple solutions that won’t affect the owners or traders,” Al-Matrooshi said, speaking outside a fire safety technology seminar. “We’re finding solutions with the lowest costs on people, so that everyone benefits.”
While some types of cladding can be made with fire-resistant material, experts say those that have caught fire in Dubai and elsewhere around the world weren’t designed to meet stricter safety standards and often were put onto buildings without any breaks to slow or halt a possible blaze.
Since 2012, a spate of fires has struck Dubai and other emirates in the UAE. Though some ignited differently, the infernos all behaved the same way, rushing up and down the sides of the buildings, fueled by the external panels.
Police said that faulty wiring sparked the blaze at The Address Downtown Dubai fire, which happened as onlookers awaited a New Year’s Eve fireworks show on the towering Burj Khalifa. However, the cladding on the building provided kindling for the fire. Dubai’s rapid growth, corner-cutting builders and regulators unaware of the danger the paneling posed made it “an unfortunate victim” for the fires, said Thomas Bell-Wright, the CEO and chief technical officer at the Dubai-based fire-safety tester Thomas Bell-Wright International Consultants.
UAE considers new fire safety laws after skyscraper blazes
UAE considers new fire safety laws after skyscraper blazes
Military coalition in Yemen condemns attack on commander’s convoy
- Al-Maliki also said the coalition is committed to supporting Yemeni security efforts and pursuing those involved in the attack and bringing them to justice
RIYADH: The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen condemned on Wednesday an attack that targeted the convoy of a senior commander.
The attack in the Jaoula area of Lahj governorate targeted vehicles under the command of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri, who heads the second division of the Giants Forces.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said there were numerous deaths injuries and called the ambush “a criminal act that is contrary to all human and moral values.”
He said the coalition, which includes Saudi Arabia, will continue coordinating with the relevant authorities to ensure the security of citizens and maintain stability, Saudi Press Agency reported.
He called for people to work with the Yemeni government and military authorities to confront any sabotage attempts or terrorist operations targeting the security and stability of liberated governorates.
Al-Maliki also said the coalition is committed to supporting Yemeni security efforts and pursuing those involved in the attack and bringing them to justice.
