DUBAI // A fire safety expert says the UAE’s latest fire code should address failings in procedures that have been shown up in recent emergencies.
Alexander Castellanos, an associate director of fire and life safety at engineer WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, said any gaps in safety checks should be addressed under the code, which took effect in January.
“For those who may not have a strict maintenance scheme in place, this is something that the new UAE fire code will address,” he said.
“It will enforce requirements for periodic testing and maintenance of safety systems such as the fire alarm and sprinkler systems, fire pumps, smoke control systems and fire doors.
“General building inspections go beyond testing of systems and include assessment of exit routes to ensure they are clear, assessment of potential hazardous materials and general fire safety management practices.”
The need to replace equipment largely depends on how well it is maintained, Mr Castellanos said.
The average life expectancy of a sprinkler system is 20 years. Similarly, a fire alarm panel can last an average of 20 years but components such as smoke detectors last about 10. Fire doors can last the lifetime of the building.
“Fire codes are very reactive to experiences,” he said.
“Earlier codes did not implement restrictions on the termination point of exits.
“We learnt a lot from emergencies, and current codes require exits to terminate or discharge at different points with a minimum separation between them but not necessarily the front and back of the building.
“Exit discharge on a single side of the building can meet code requirements for various building designs.”
In line with international practice, the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code requires a fire drill every six months.
It also insists on the use of third-party independent inspections, strict accountability and fines.
According to Dubai Civil Defence, fines of up to Dh50,000 can be levied for each fault uncovered by inspectors.
A federal law that makes smoke alarms in homes mandatory comes into force next year.
nwebster@thenational.ae
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
