Expert says fire hazards abound in Abu Dhabi



Ageing firetraps riddled with hazards The National asked safety expert Norm Labbe to assess some of Abu Dhabi's older tower blocks: this is his alarming verdict Matt Kwong ABU DHABI // Norm Labbe gazed up at a tangled nest of exposed wiring. "Where do you start?" he asked. "This one doesn't even have a pressure gauge," the Canadian health and safety expert said, studying a fire extinguisher that had been left placed on the floor of a small shop at one building in the Al Wahda area. The emergency device was still wrapped in plastic.

In a lobby littered with cigarette butts, a corroded metal box housing the fire alarm system "obviously has not been checked," Mr Labbe said. "It's the basics." The managing director of the Emirates Institute for Health and Safety was touring some of Abu Dhabi's ageing residential apartments as part of an investigation launched by The National in the wake of last month's blaze that ravaged an eight-storey apartment on Airport Road.

With more than 20 years of experience in the field, Mr Labbe's private health and safety training institute lists the Abu Dhabi Airports Company and the Department of Municipal Affairs among its clients. He characterised the state of the emirate's building stock as "poor" when it comes to fire preparedness. During his inspection, Mr Labbe pointed out inoperable fire hose reels, missing fire extinguishers and tangles of exposed wiring.

He estimated one weathered bachelors' accommodation low-rise in the "Tanker Mai" neighbourhood was more than 20 years old. Although the exterior had recently been repainted, the interior had not been maintained properly. Nests of wiring spilled from walls and ceilings. Upstairs, a grimy fire hose was disconnected from the valve. The protective case was missing and the box was littered with pistachio shells, sweet wrappers and cigarettes.

"Water supply should be flowing through this," Mr Labbe said. "This should be covered, protected, checked every year." He also observed scorch marks on outlet plates - an indication that the panels had at one point been overloaded with too many devices. "People plug in stuff and you get a warning signal with a little spark. All of a sudden, you may have a wire that's cut, causes a spark, catches another wire, and guess what? Fire travels through the wiring across the whole building."

"And where's the emergency lighting?" he asked, gesturing at empty sockets above doors to several flats. "If it was at night, 3 o'clock in the morning, the proper way of ensuring a good exit route is emergency lighting, so that if all of a sudden the power went out, you have an independent source to light up an exit route." Resolving the safety issues would be a reasonable expense, he said. In some cases, all it takes is for corridors and exit stairwells to be cleared of clutter.

"We had a whole office retrofitted for Dh1,100. That was it," he said. "That's emergency lighting, fire extinguishers and smoke alarms and emergency exits." Next to the blackened building that caught fire last month on Airport Road, Mr Labbe found that the watchman for a 14-storey apartment block was at least knowledgeable about proper fire safety. Abdul Majeed, from Kerala, had worked in the building for 12 years and was trained to operate fire extinguishers and hose reels. He had already put out his fair share of minor fires, he said.

Mr Majeed said the building might have three fires a year. He said he calls the police, but in the half-hour before their arrival, the fire is finished. Quizzed by Mr Labbe on how he responds to fire emergencies, Mr Majeed explained how he monitored the building's fire alarm control panel and shut down gas and electricity when a fire is detected in a flat. As in the case of the fire last month, small ground-level businesses can put residents above in jeopardy.

Mr Labbe ducked into a small woodworking shop below a residential low-rise and found wiring that had been damaged and taped. "It should be replaced," he said. mkwong@thenational.ae

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Ligue 1: Appearances - 29, Goals - 15, Assists - 8
UCL: Appearances - 9, Goals - 6
French Cup: Appearances - 3, Goals - 3
France U19: Appearances - 5, Goals - 5, Assists - 1

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Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

MATCH INFO

Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)

Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no

Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)

Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22

Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets

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Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

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Director: Christian Carion

Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis

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Started: August 2020
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Price, base / as tested: Dh204,750 / Dh241,500
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​​​​​​​Fuel economy, combined: 10.3L / 100km

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6.30pm: The President’s Cup Prep (PA) Dh100,000 2,200m
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7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
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MATCH INFO

Euro 2020 qualifier

Norway v Spain, Saturday, 10.45pm, UAE

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Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
In numbers

1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:

  • 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
  • 150 tonnes to landfill
  • 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal

800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal

Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year

25 staff on site