Dubai: Dubai Civil Defence will launch a “home safety package” for home and villa owners to help them with the correct installation of fire safety systems.
Major General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, Director of Dubai Civil Defence, said the package will also include awareness programmes for families, to protect themselves from fires.
Residents can take their home plans to the authority, and specialists will advise them on where to install fire systems, such as smoke detectors and alarms around the house.
Dubai Civil Defence will also supply a list of private companies that comply with their standards and regulations to install such systems.
“The smoke produced during a fire contains poisonous gases and particles, and is the main reason behind most fatalities in fire incidents. Smoke is the killer in more than 70 per cent of the cases,” he said.
He stressed on the importance of having smoke detectors in homes, which give an early warning in case of a fire. This would allow the occupants to get out of the building before the smoke gets too dense.
“The risk is higher when people are sleeping, as they are unaware of the smoke building up in the house. Smoke is the silent killer,” Maj Gen Al Matroushi said, stressing on the importance of the smoke detectors and alarm systems.
In cases where a fire breaks out on the lower floor of a house, and smoke starts filling the upper floor, people sometimes refrain from opening the windows on the top floor as it will supply oxygen to the fire, he said, “Although that is true, it is more dangerous to not open them and keep the smoke in and suffocate.”
In such a case, one should open a window in one room and move to another room, closing the door and blocking any other openings that would allow smoke inside.
“They can then open the window that is farthest from the open window in the other room, to get some smoke-free air until help arrives,” he noted.
Home fires are usually a result of the lack of preventive awareness, negligence, poor preventive infrastructure in old homes, old or dysfunctional electricity networks and appliances, badly maintained gas networks or pipes, unlicensed constructional modifications and unattended fire or ignition sources.
In cases where people need to escape through a smoke-filled room, they should crawl on their hands and knees, as smoke tends to rise and the air is cleaner at around 60 centimetres above the floor, he advised.
