DUBAI // Racing, reckless driving and badly modified cars were major factors in the number of vehicles bursting into flames almost doubling last year, Dubai Civil Defence says.
Emergency workers reported 153 vehicle fires last year, compared with just 80 in 2011.
Lorries carrying flammable material without regard to safety regulations were also blamed.
"There are specifications in place for transporting flammable liquids and gases," said Civil Defence instructor Shehabe Al Badawy. "Unfortunately there is just no enforcement for regulations."
Mr Al Badawy was speaking at the launch of the fifth Safe and Healthy Summer campaign by Dubai Municipality, which this year focuses on fire prevention.
He said Civil Defence was taking extra care with fire risks this year because Ramadan is in summer.
"Everything we talked about today - about fire safety in kitchens and shops and homes - the risks will increase exponentially during Ramadan due to the high activity and load on the appliances," Mr Al Badawy said.
In the event of a car fire, he said the first step was to turn off the car engine.
"Pop open the bonnet, but just a few inches. Don't open the whole thing," he said. "Get your fire extinguisher, place the nozzle in the opening and spray until the canister is empty."
Last year's 153 vehicle fires were part of 395 fires in total, of which 57 were in houses and villas, 46 in flats, two in office towers, 17 in buildings under construction, and 86 in businesses such as shops and restaurants.
Raed Al Marzouqi, head of the occupational health and safety section at the civic body, spoke about the importance of not overloading circuits and said he had driven through an old part of Dubai when a neighbourhood transformer exploded.
"It blew the roof off the housing - it was a huge explosion," Mr Al Marzouqi said. "Later I found out that there were many villas in that area, overcrowded with bachelors and multiple air-conditioning units running non-stop. This caused the overload on the transformer."
Poor housekeeping was one of the biggest causes of fires at construction sites, Mr Al Marzouqi said. "Combustible materials can accumulate at a work site and if it is not disposed of regularly and correctly it can be a major fire risk," he said.
"One fire was very surprising: there were no flammable chemicals being used or anything. They were just trying to cut an old sewage tank.
"But there was an accumulation of methane and ammonia gas in the tank from the decomposition, and they hadn't realised that."
As part of the campaign, which runs until the end of summer, the municipality has released a detailed handbook with ways to prevent fires at home and in schools, shops, construction sites and other locations.
It will be distributed online to companies so they can hand it out to their workers.
The handbook also includes advice for factories and warehouses, including details of unsafe mechanical, chemical and electrical practices.
malkhan@thenational.ae
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Belong%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Michael%20Askew%20and%20Matthew%20Gaziano%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%243.5%20million%20from%20crowd%20funding%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
Asia Cup Qualifier
Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6: Final
Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Schedule: Sep 15-28
Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Political flags or banners
-
Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Key facilities
- 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
