Residents urged to follow fire safety measures

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has urged Qatar’s residents to adhere strictly to safety procedures during the ongoing summer to prevent outbreak of fires, particularly at homes.Director of Operations in the General Directorate of the Civil Defence (GDCD) Brigadier Hamad al-Duhaimi said strict vigil is to be maintained during the whole summer season, especially during the Holy month of Ramadan.The senior civil defence official emphasised adherence to safety procedures as there have been several fire accidents across the country. He attributed such fires to the excess use of energy and electrical overload. Brigadier al-Duhaimi said the extensive use of low quality extension cords and electrical equipment could lead to fires. He said there have been instances of people leaving air-conditioners on continuously for several hours and failing to switch them off even while going on vacation.The official cautioned the people against running their exhaust fans continuously for several hours, especially during the summer. “The exhaust fans in kitchens  could cause fires and they should be cleaned at intervals, by wiping out the oils accumulated on them. “There is a good chance that continuous working of exhaust fans could result in them getting heated up and possibly igniting oil or threads accumulated on them,” Brigadier al-Duhami said.The civil defence official also urged the people to ensure that gas cylinders at their homes remained closed before they went to sleep as gas leaks could cause major fires or suffocation. “The cylinders need to be placed away from sun and other heating objects, if any,” he said.  In case of any gas leak, people should bear in mind not to switch on or off any electrical switch as it could cause an explosion. It also needs to be ensured that no exhaust fan is switched on when one suspects a gas leakage at his home, he said. Even while locking the source of such leakages, one also needs to make sure that all doors, windows and other sources of ventilation remained open, added the official.The official also urged people to shut burners after their use. He recalled there have been instances of people forgetting the food being prepared in ovens and failing to switch them off.While insisting that safety measures at homes, public places and work places figured top on the priorities of the civil defence,  the official said the civil department has been regularly co-ordinating with other agencies to make sure that safety procedures are in place at all locations.GDCD’s head of Preventive Education Major Hussain Aman al-Ali said the directorate has organised a number of awareness events on safety systems in buildings in recent months for engineers and consultants. While asking the residents to be more cautious in summer, the official said keeping the electrical cables for various equipment open for several hours at one place could result in short circuits and hence big fires occurred. Major al-Ali also highlighted the necessity of keeping away such combustible objects as kitchen towels, small pieces of cloth, food cases, and wooden tools as each of them has the potential to flare up without any prior warning. Assistant Director (Administration Affairs) Major Mohamed Aman recalled that the eagerness shown by many institutions and companies for holding mock drills on fire fighting at their premises was a positive sign. The official said the directorate is only too happy in holding such safety awareness programmes for the public.