Civil defence cars to roam Sharjah in bid to cut emergency response times

Sharjah Civil Defence said the cars will drive around the emirate looking for fire hazards and drivers will also have an eye on finding possible entry points to buildings in case of emergencies.

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SHARJAH // Eleven civil defence vehicles are to roam Sharjah in a bid to shorten emergency response times.

Sharjah Civil Defence said the cars will drive around the emirate looking for fire hazards and drivers will also have an eye on finding possible entry points to buildings in case of emergencies.

The cars are smaller than civil defence fire engines but they are equipped with all the tools used to control fire until fire crews reach the location.

“Currently, Sharjah Civil Defence response to fires are averaging 6 to 8 minutes till we reach the location. We aim to shorten the time to four minutes using the new patrols,” said Col Sami Al Naqbi, director of Sharjah Civil Defence.

The cars will start their patrols from the 11 civil defence stations across Sharjah.

“We will be evaluating the output from this initiative over the next three months, and increase the number of vehicles to roam around the clock if the results are good,” said Col Al Naqbi.

The director added that the number of fires in the emirate has decreased significantly over the past year due to intensive awareness campaigns.

tzriqat@thenational.ae