Address fire prompts UAE building inspection campaign

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Address fire prompts UAE building inspection campaign The blaze that tore through the Address Downtown hotel on New Year’s Eve has prompted a nationwide inspection of buildings, a fire chief has said. Lt Col Jamal Ahmed Ibrahim, director of preventive safety at Dubai Civil Defence, told reporters yesterday that the force has been examining the cladding on the 63-storey building. “Primary on-site inspection of the Address Downtown fire suggests that the cladding did not follow the specifications, which could explain why the fire spread so quickly,” he said. “However, the cause of the fire is still under investigation and the Dubai Police forensic department is to issue the final report. Only then can the primary observations be confirmed.” Current fire safety specifications were issued in 2012. However, the Address Downtown was completed in 2008. In a statement, a spokes­person for developer Emaar said: “All our buildings are developed as per the specifications by the concerned authorities. The buildings are tested periodically and cleared for adhering to the regulatory standards.” Ibrahim said the fire has prompted new inspections of cladding along with the overall fire safety of buildings. The Ministry of Interior is to carry out the survey. He added an update to the 2012 UAE Fire and Life Safety Code of Practice, planned for March, will also address a number of issues regarding cladding specifications. Ibrahim was speaking yesterday on the sidelines of a press conference to announce Intersec, a security and safety trade fair, taking place from January 17 to 19 in Dubai. Ibrahim said there is a gap in the current fire safety code that will be addressed in the updated version in March. He said: “With regard to the cladding, there is a gap. “[In fact] in the current guide the [NFPA] 5000 building code and the European A48 specification are already included. “The gap is in the follow up [process] and the inspections during construction, all of these issues will be addressed in the new code. “The full facade should go for testing but now the different elements could be tested separately.” The Ministry of Interior has set up a committee to start the nationwide survey to prevent similar fires in the future, he said. “From the second day of the fire we started to do workshops to solve these problems,” he said. “We are doing a survey for all buildings in the UAE, not only in Dubai, and we will see the reports, so if there is any building with any issue, we will find solutions.” The New Year blaze saw about 200 fire crew battle to control the flames and safely rescue occupants of the hotel. wafa.issa@7days.ae Read the original story at: Address fire prompts UAE building inspection campaign