DUBAI // Tough new fire safety regulations came into force nationwide on Sunday after a series of spectacular blazes in high-rise towers in Dubai.
The new code targets the exterior cladding that has been blamed for the spread of many fires, and aims to reduce its flammability.
“There is a requirement to minimise it to zero,” said Lt Taher Al Taher of Dubai Civil Defence
“Older buildings will have to meet the new code when it is time for their maintenance.
“We are confident that we’re going to have the safest cladding in the world. We have raised the standards for the supplement materials, and even the responsibilities of the consultants.”
The amended UAE Fire Safety and Life Protection Code specifies procedures for the installation of cladding and contains detailed guidelines and responsibilities for consultants, contractors and manufacturers.
For the first time, those who break the rules face prosecution and fines of up to Dh50,000.
A key new requirement is that builders will have to carry out regular maintenance on cladding panels and replace them after a certain date. “There is a timeline for all cladding and there is maintenance for everything. By that time they’ll have to change it,” Lt Al Taher said.
Under the new rules, buildings that catch fire must have all old cladding panels removed, and not just those damaged by the blaze.
“Most of the most recent fire incidents show that the fire is happening on the outside of the building, which is why we have included new specifications,” said Maj Gen Rashid Al Matroushi, director general of Dubai Civil Defence.
“We will have a meeting next week with Dubai Municipality, with whom we’ve formed a working group that will disseminate the details of the new specifications and ensure their implementation.
“We have also agreed with the municipality to summon designers, developers and consultants to brief them on the new specifications and how to use them in the buildings.”
The code was continuously amended after fire incidents, he said. “If we note something of significance, we study and analyse it.”
The new code was announced at Intersec, a trade fair in Dubai for security, safety and fire protection.
Sajid Raza, a member of the UAE Fire Code Council, told a forum at Intersec that the UAE’s rate of fire casualties was “much lower than many advanced countries”, at 0.23 for every 10,000 people.
Lt Al Taher said the low number was due to awareness campaigns and regular fire drills at schools, hotels and residential buildings.
Electrical short circuits have been behind most of Dubai’s fires, Gen Al Matroushi said, and the emirate was looking into introducing nanotechnology that could put out a fire instantly.
“To avoid using large fire extinguishers, a nanotechnology piece that is 2 centimetres by 2cm can be used to fight the cause of the fire,” he said.
These micro-extinguishers reportedly release fire extinguishing gas as soon as the temperature reaches a certain level.
Dubai hopes to start production of such devices by March this year.
There has been increasing pressure for action following five major tower fires in as many years, fuelled by aluminium cladding with a combustible thermoplastic core – particularly after flames quickly spread in the Address Downtown Dubai hotel in 2015 as millions watched the New Year’s Eve festivities.
In July last year, a fire gutted the 75-storey Sulafa tower in Dubai Marina, with the flames spreading up quickly at least 15 floors of the building.
In November 2015, a fire engulfed three residential blocks in central Dubai and led to services on a metro line being suspended, although no one was hurt.
In February 2015, a blaze gutted one of the emirate’s tallest buildings, also in the Dubai Marina area. It destroyed luxury flats in the Torch tower and prompted authorities to evacuate nearby blocks.
In 2012, a huge blaze gutted the 34-storey Tamweel Tower in Jumeirah Lakes Towers. It was later blamed on a cigarette end thrown into a bin.
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
rtalwar@thenational.ae
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
THE SPECS
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Torque: 147Nm
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20myZoi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Syed%20Ali%2C%20Christian%20Buchholz%2C%20Shanawaz%20Rouf%2C%20Arsalan%20Siddiqui%2C%20Nabid%20Hassan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2037%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Initial%20undisclosed%20funding%20from%20SC%20Ventures%3B%20second%20round%20of%20funding%20totalling%20%2414%20million%20from%20a%20consortium%20of%20SBI%2C%20a%20Japanese%20VC%20firm%2C%20and%20SC%20Venture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Bayern Munich 2 Borussia Monchengladbach 1
Bayern: Zirkzee (26'), Goretzka (86')
Gladbach: Pavard (37' og)
Man of the Match: Breel Embolo (Borussia Monchengladbach)
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm