DUBAI // Training on fire and safety standards will begin next month with maintenance, engineering companies and consultants already signing up.
Classes will begin from February 5 at the Emirates Civil Defence Academy to help organisations comply with new requirements on installation and inspections of cladding, fire alarms, sprinklers and smoke management systems following the release of the updated UAE Fire and Life Safety Code last week.
“There is a need to understand the standards and requirements that the Civil Defence has for the private sector,” said Drew Azzara, Middle East executive director for the National Fire Protection Association, a non-profit organisation that has developed and published more than 300 codes and standards to help prevent death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire and electrical hazards by specifying criteria for building, service, design and installation in the US and globally.
“Ninety per cent of the UAE code is based on the NFPA. Since it is fundamentally based on NFPA codes and standards, that’s one reason why this training is needed and we are aggressively working with Dubai Civil Defence to provide training to the private sector,” said Mr Azzara who has been involved in developing the UAE code along with officials and members of the private sector.
The association has held courses in the Emirates for several years, but the focus this year is on additional training based on the fresh updates.
Classes will run through the year with week-long and more intensive courses.
Countries that adopt the NFPA code make changes based on environmental conditions such as heat, temperature, humidity or proximity to salt water, he said.
Drastically reducing the flammability of cladding material, tougher fines and accountability of each sector are a part of the amended code.
A key requirement is that older buildings needing cladding maintenance must meet the code standards. Third party independent inspections are another important requirement, experts said.
“You need inspectors to identify when there truly is a code violation so getting people properly trained is key. A third party must be properly certified because that helps enforce the code,” said Douglas Ralph, chief executive of Snag & Inspect, a consultancy firm.
“We have beautiful building codes but right now one of the challenges is there is nobody to manage it and ensure everything is being followed the way it’s intended. This would help buildings to be constructed that truly do meet the code instead of being completed and then owners finding out later about code violations.”
There has been a focus on safety in towers following five major fires since 2012 that spread quickly caused by aluminium cladding with a combustible thermoplastic core. The blaze that raced through the Address Downtown Dubai hotel grabbed the most attention on New Year’s Eve 2015.
Contractors too said new requirements must be followed through on the ground.
“Before people wanted just glass building, then cladding buildings but now there is an understanding that there is a weakness because of the fires. The talk in the market is how we must only use the fire retardant cladding because the earlier one with the low density polyurethane core was the combustible type,” said DV, manager with an installation company, adding that rules were not always followed on fire retardant sealant between slabs.
“In case of smoke or fire it will help stop the spread. This was not practiced rigorously before but now people realise this is important so the fire will not transfer to other floors.”
rtalwar@thenational.ae
