DUBAI // There were 220 fires in residential buildings in the emirate last year, including apartments, villas and labour camps, according to Dubai police.
Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed, the head of fire effects examination at the forensic evidence department and criminology, said most fires started in the kitchen as it contains flammable substances such as oils and gas, with the balcony the second most common source of blazes as they are often used for storage.
He said 4 fires last year were caused by children and warned that youngsters aged 3-7 represent a high risk to themselves and to others because of a lack of awareness.
Smoking indoors or throwing cigarettes from a balcony can also lead to fires and injuries, said Mr Ahmed, adding candles, air-conditioners and fireworks also pose dangers.
Mr Ahmed urged people to be mindful of gas stoves and to deal with any gas leaks by opening windows and shutting off the gas at the source and avoiding the use of electric circuits. In case of a fire, he said that all doors must be closed to prevent the flames from spreading and civil defence alerted by calling 997.
He stressed that all members of a household must learn the emergency numbers by heart, especially domestic helpers, and called on people to keep working fire extinguishers in their homes and to learn how to use them.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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