Balcony BBQ endangered Dubai event: New Civil Defence code on building safety soon

After a building has been constructed and handed over, a maintenance company is there to preserve the quality of the building.

Apart from repairing defects that may arise, it is also responsible for regular maintenance of crucial building facilities such as the sprinkler system, fire alarms, electrical wiring and much more.

However, maintenance work does not always receive the attention that it should. The work may be done incorrectly, not frequently enough, or not at all, and this can cause serious hazards.

A guideline to a proper maintenance of buildings in the UAE will soon be introduced by Civil Defence.

This guideline will sum up the responsibilities involved with the maintenance of a building.

"These responsibilities are already clarified in the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code. But the involved parties are either not aware of the code, or are not carrying out what is in there correctly," said Pramod Challa, Chief of Engineering at Civil Defence.

"In the guidelines we will clarify technically what is expected."

Apart from technicalities, the guideline will clarify which parties have a shared responsibility in maintaining a building.

“Although the maintenance company may be responsible for the actual work, building owners are equally responsible as they should be aware of the maintenance requirements and be involved in the implementation,” explained Pramod.

Inspections are carried out on a regular basis by Civil Defence and these inspections will continue to exist.

However, more control should be present over the maintenance activities in a building, emphasises Civil Defence.

Sprinkling indifference

Snag and Inspect, an inspection company which has inspected over 1,000 buildings in the UAE agrees on the importance of maintenance.

David O'Riley, Marketing Director, points out that without maintenance work a sprinkler system will not function correctly.

"Too many building owners appear to be of the belief that sprinkler systems do not require any maintenance. Indeed, I have talked to facilities management companies who do not fully understand the importance of correct sprinkler system maintenance.

“This lack of commitment poses serious challenges for Civil Defence as it endangers the building and the safety of the occupants should a fire occur."

A set of standards implicitly instructing what activities are required to maintain a building would be of great support, David agreed.

Cheap labour

According to Jamal Ahmad Ibrahim, Director of Preventive Safety at Civil Defence a large part of negligence is caused by a lack of education.

In the construction process as well as in maintaining the building, cheap labour is often preferred, which jeopardises the quality of the work that is done.

There is sometimes little knowledge of what is required, he argued.

These requirements will clearly by stated and clarified in the maintenance guideline, which will be issued this year. Apart from maintenance in residential buildings it will cover other structures too such as schools and hospitals, addressing different responsibilities.

Tenants

For the maintenance of residential buildings, even the role of tenants will be addressed, added Pramod.

"Also the tenant is responsible for maintaining the building. A tenant is not supposed to have a barbeque on the balcony, or throw cigarettes butts down the balcony. This will be clarified in the guideline."

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