Families are risking lives by ignoring fire safety rules, Dubai police say.
Lighting barbecues indoors or discarding cigarettes from high-rise apartments are some of the main causes of residential fires, especially the ones that start in balconies.
"Although termed as accidents, most fires are preventable," said Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed, head of fire effects examination at the forensic science and criminology department of Dubai police.
Last year there were 196 fires in buildings, villas, and labour camps, according to Dubai police.
"Thirty-one fires were caused by "glowing" objects, such as charcoal and cigarette butts," Mr Ahmed said.
“Most home fires start in the kitchen as it contains flammable substances, with the balcony one of the most common sources of blazes as they are used as storage. I have witnessed a few scenarios where balconies are used for barbecues,” he said.
In August last year, a carelessly thrown away cigarette caused the fire at the Torch tower. The blaze was caused by the cigarette falling on to balcony plants and setting them alight. A few days ago a small fire in Dubai Marina was reported to have been caused by a cigarette thrown into a plant pot.
"Some fires start in bedrooms and candles or cigarettes are usually the main causes," said Mr Ahmed, whose unit investigates the causes of fires.
"In early 2017, an Arab national woman placed several candles near her bed. When she moved, one of the pillows accidentally fell on the candle. Fire fighters rushed to the scene and put out the fire. When police questioned the woman to determine the causes of the fire, she had no idea that the fire started due to placing candles near her bed," he said.
“Of the 196 fires, Sixty-four fires were caused by electrical faults.”
A total of 815 accidents, including fires, gas cylinder explosions and suffocations, were investigated by the unit last year.
“Overloading sockets is dangerous and can be very costly, yet it can be easily avoided. So many people do not replace old wires and overload extension cords with too many devices, which cause fires,” the fire expert said.
"There were other 20 fires in construction sites in the emirate last year."
Most fires in construction sites are caused by faulty electrics, lack of maintenance and neglecting basic fire safety rules.
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Read more:
Fifty workers moved to safety as fire tears through clothing factory
Small fire in Dubai Marina swiftly put under control - civil defence
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Mr Ahmed said labourers at construction sites often install their own electricity wiring.
"There should be greater awareness among employers and labourers. Employers or contractors must assign a supervisor in the construction site to ensure the careful use of electrical power and safety precautions. Some of them install their electricity connecting wires for personal use while others throw away flammable objects leaving the site at higher risk of catching fire," said Mr Ahmed.
“Many people are living in one apartment in labourer accommodations. Those bedrooms are packed with bunk beds and several people are using the same socket,” he said.
Two fires were caused by individuals who held rituals in their apartments.
Some fires are spontaneous, while others are intentionally started. Seven fires were intentionally lit last year, according to Dubai police.
“Most intentional fires involve setting vehicles on fires. While investigating causes of car fires, we examine the vehicle and if traces of oil or fuel are found in the car seats, it is usually considered one of the signs that a car was set on fire on purpose,” Mr Ahmed said.
“Around 40 labourers started a fire in a construction site last year. Firefighters responded to the incident and police investigated the matter.”
Mr Ahmed did not disclose details about the circumstances of the fire.
On Sunday, Ajman Civil Defence officials carried out inspections on labour accommodations and several warehouses in a bid to ensure following safety procedures. They found one shops to be storing 100 gas cylinders dangerously without following safety regulations.
Officials gave the warehouse owner a notice period to rectify the problem.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Asia Cup 2018 final
Who: India v Bangladesh
When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium
Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD
Biggest%20applause
%3Cp%3EAsked%20to%20rate%20Boris%20Johnson's%20leadership%20out%20of%2010%2C%20Mr%20Sunak%20awarded%20a%20full%2010%20for%20delivering%20Brexit%20%E2%80%94%20remarks%20that%20earned%20him%20his%20biggest%20round%20of%20applause%20of%20the%20night.%20%22My%20views%20are%20clear%2C%20when%20he%20was%20great%20he%20was%20great%20and%20it%20got%20to%20a%20point%20where%20we%20need%20to%20move%20forward.%20In%20delivering%20a%20solution%20to%20Brexit%20and%20winning%20an%20election%20that's%20a%2010%2F10%20-%20you've%20got%20to%20give%20the%20guy%20credit%20for%20that%2C%20no-one%20else%20could%20probably%20have%20done%20that.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Essentials
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing.
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The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
