ABU DHABI // Inspectors will check high-rise buildings nationwide for banned and flammable construction materials that experts believe are present in hundreds of structures.
Owners of buildings that break the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code will be fined up to Dh50,000 and forced to remove the material, and the inspectors will also check for other fire hazards such as inadequate protection systems.
Sharjah's Al Tayer Tower, gutted by fire on April 28, was clad in combustible material explicitly forbidden by the code, which was introduced in July last year.
"The first thing authorities are going to do is set up a programme to investigate the integrity and safety of other high-rise facade buildings before they go up in smoke," a Civil Defence fire safety consultant said yesterday.
"This initiative comes out of the experience that Sharjah just had."
Experts say hundreds of buildings across the country are at risk because they are clad with the same dangerous panels as Al Tayer.
Haytham Mohammed Ali, the engineer for Al Tayer Tower's contractor, said many buildings constructed before the code was introduced used the same panels because they "give a better look and are very easy to install".
The tiles - known as aluminium composite panels - are dangerous because the thin layers of aluminium can melt, exposing the combustible plastic core. Fires that would otherwise remain contained can then spread rapidly along the exterior of the structure.
Mr Ali said he was under the impression that before the code's introduction such panels were allowed. The 40-storey Al Tayer Tower was built in 2009.
However, even before the safety code was introduced, regulations banned the use of combustible claddings and facades, though the regulations appear not to have been highly publicised or strictly enforced.
The Civil Defence consultant said the panels should never have been allowed, even before last year's new fire code.
"The regulations are very clear," he said. "There has never been any lack of any codes, but there may have been some weaknesses in the enforcement of them, especially in the boom days.
"We will plug those holes in enforcement right now. We look at the fires, investigate them and change rules and regulations as a result."
However, some industry experts say they are not aware of any regulations restricting the use of such panels.
"To save costs, some people are using normal composite panels, not the fire-retardant ones," said Brakash S, a mechanical engineer with Sunrays Metal Fabrication Company in Abu Dhabi. "Unless the consultant says we have to use the fire-retardant ones, we don't use them."
"We use fire-resistant panels on some buildings, but not all," said Ziad Kassis, a project manager for Arabian Industrial Company.
"It depends on what the client wants, but if you can't use the normal ones everywhere, no one has ever told me the restrictions."
Mr Kassis said his company has provided non fire-resistant panels for high-rise structures in the capital.
"All together, the building should be fire-safe, but there are no laws that I know of," he said.
The Civil Defence consultant admitted that enforcement "may have been an issue" in the past, but "not any more".
"In the future, these buildings will not fall through any loopholes," he said.
A fire and safety consultant in Abu Dhabi applauded the new initiative but said it was unfortunate a spate of fires had to draw attention to the issue before action could be taken.
"There ares no real rules until something goes wrong," he said. "There's nothing anyone can do until the authorities go out and perform inspections and review these approvals for materials and make decisions."
In Sharjah, the municipality met other concerned government departments to discuss fire prevention methods.
"We are also looking at local and international experiences in the use of specifications to build safe houses with non-flammable materials," said Maj Gen Rashid Al Matrooshi, commander-in-chief of the General Directorate of Civil Defence in Sharjah.
In the United States, aluminium composite panels are permitted for use in single-family homes but will not pass fire tests for high-rise structures.
Other recommendations heard by Sharjah municipality included building a buffer fire breaker between every four storeys, which would help to stop fires spreading throughout the building. These breakers would also be used by firefighters.
The Sharjah Civil Defence also honoured one of its workers for his heroics during the Al Tayer fire. Lt Saeed Al Bayat was at the scene within five minutes and moved floor to floor up to the 40th storey waking up families, not leaving an apartment until all its occupants were safe.
ykakande@thenational.ae