Need for awareness
Lack of awareness is a serious concern for residents (“7 children of a family die in suspected suffocation case in Fujairah”, Gulf News, January 23). Even though villas and apartments are equipped with all the fire safety equipment, the concern is that residents are not familiar with its usage. Many of the safety equipment installed are either not renewed or checked on time by the service provider. The installations are usually done as a ‘mandatory requirement’ for obtaining the initial nod from the authorities concerned. It’s the landlords’ responsibility to get this done in a timely manner. Moreover, apartment buildings must conduct mock fire drills very often in order to bring awareness among the residents, especially children, and each floor or flat must have someone aware of the usage of such equipment in case of emergency. This is seriously lacking. Obviously, children must be aware of the basics of fire safety equipment and how they can be best utilised and in what circumstances. With increasing fire incidents, it is important that smoke detectors and similar equipment is placed at home and are properly checked, as part of precautionary steps. Family members and children need to have awareness.
From Mr Ramachandran Nair
UAE
More training for children
We’ve equipped our home with all the necessary precautions for a fire. But smoke detectors and fire extinguishers aren’t enough to keep our children prepared. Children have a natural curiosity about fire and the ability to strike matches or use a lighter. Teaching children the ‘stop, drop and roll’ move, is an important safety move and can prevent serious burns if their clothes are on fire. Have them demonstrate the steps for you, and remind them to cover their face and mouth.
Fropm Mr Kashish Chauhan
Dubai
Know how to call the police
It’s very important to educate our children on the dangers of fire and how to react if they find themselves in a situation wherein there’s no elderly person around to tell them what to do. Especially they should be taught the importance of calling emergency services.
From Mr Manfred Anwanda
UAE
Invite firemen to train
I am an operations manager for a nursery and we invite firemen to conduct fire drills and meet the children to meet the firemen, so they understand the job of a firemen in our community. We also ask the firemen to bring an evacuation plan with them to explain to the parents how to conduct a home evacuation, in case of a fire at home. Our job as a nursery is to educate both the children and their parents as to ways to keep themselves safe in the school and at home!
From Ms Diane Monet Nobles
UAE
Evacuation training needed
This is a personal suggestion, but I feel like children above the age of 12, should be taught about the use of fire extinguishers and how to break the emergency glass during a crisis. Children below the age of 12 are more attracted towards heroism in movies, but they should be taught to evacuate and escape from the building.
From Mr Shakieb Ali
Dubai
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