Fire Safety in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates - Case Study Example

 Fire Safety in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates Introduction Fire safety is at the core of ensuring a community lives in peace and security is preserved. This essay is going to examine safety within a community in the context of fire safety and activities undertaken to ensure fire safety is maintained within the society. We are going to look at the fire safety measures undertaken in the United Kingdom with the aim of implementing the same in the Unites Arab Emirates. Several studies undertaken on safety have outlined the role the community has played in ensuring fire safety in the United Kingdom and the same has also been undertaken in the UAE. Aim The aim of the proposal is to examine the community safety activities in the UK within the area of fire services and compare with fire services safety in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) for a purpose of formulation of best practices for implementation in the UAE. This proposal essay has objectives that need to be achieved at the end of the project as listed below: 1) Explanation of community safety in the UAE Undertake a study of fire safety strategies and developments in the UAE. 2) Explanation of community safety in the UK Develop a national fire safety plan and strategies to be deployed in the UAE. 3) Comparison of practices of both communities. 4) A profile of risk applicable in the UAE. 5) Provide a suite of proposals for use in UAE to evaluate of fire community. Rationale This proposal will address the key issues of fire safety within communities in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The plan of work will follow the aims and objectives of the project and derive meaning out of the project as illustrated below. Under taking the study on fire service in the UK and comparing the same to UAE will assist us in developing a sound fire safety plan for the UAE. The rationale of undertaking this project was based on the points raised below: a) Fire Safety in the UK: Fire safety is an important part sector in the people lives since it ensures security and safety. In the United Kingdom, fire safety is considered an important part of offering security within the society. As a result, the country has been in the forefront of establishing associations, legal framework and laws that guide on the issue of fire security. People and communities in the United Kingdom have a history of having adequate fire security measures (Grice, 2009, p.106). For instance, there are legislations that have been put in place to provide fire security. Some of these laws include the Regulatory Reform for Fire Safety that was legislated and adopted in the year 2006. This piece of legislation replaced around 70 other laws and this law applies to non-domestic premises in England and Wales. Apart from the government’s efforts, the local community has established fire safety organizations such as the Fire Protection Association. These organizations provide training on fire protection and engage members of the community with strategies on ensuring fire security is maintained (Cote, 2008). b) Fire Safety in the UAE: People living in UAE have seen the importance of protecting their citizens from the effects of fire. Fire safety in UAE has not yet been conceptualized as a big risk and therefore the government and the relevant authorities have been slow in enacting policies to govern on fire protection (Grivna, 2012, p. 87). The authorities have not instituted laws or legally binding locally instituted laws to govern on fire protection. UAE has a trail blazing record for its building industry that has seen construction of exquisite buildings that houses tenants and communities (Cote, 2008). As a result, the country has had to rely on international laws such as the International Building Code (IBC) or the Singapore Building Code and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). These laws have not adequately addressed the issue of fire safety in the region. As a result, the authorities in the UAE came up with a draft to implement a local solution through the Ministry of Interior in the department of Civil Defence. This code and law which is referred to as the Fire and Life Safety Code, will be used by building owners and the general public in ensuring that fire protection is guaranteed for everyone. However, the implementation of this law has not been fully implemented and it will time through amendments for the law to be fully operational (Hughes, 2012). Fire protection mechanisms and laws are still taking root in the UAE and this could take some time before a fully fledged authority is implemented to provide fire security. In the meantime, it is the work of private authorities and companies to come up with fire security and protection mechanisms. c) Comparison of UK & UAE Fire Safety: The UK has been on the forefront in fighting fire through elaborate fire security measures. The community of people living in the United Kingdom are aware of fire security and they have formed organizations and groups to help in ensuring fire security strategies are maintained. On the legislation front, the UK government through the department of communities and the local government support the work of fire and rescue services in different regions in the UK. Furthermore, communities in the UK are involved in drawing up legislation and implementation of these legislations at a community level. For instance, between December 2011 and March 2012, a national fire and rescue framework was undertaken within communities in the United Kingdom (Lee, 2006, p.126). On the other hand, in the UAE fire security is vested under the Ministry of Interior which has yet to establish a department vested with providing fire security. Most of the fire fighting and provision of fire security in the UAE has done in a private level. However, the government is trying to come up with measures to ensure fire security is provided through legislation of a fire and safety code. Most of the fire security measures or activities conducted at the community level have been undertaken through private initiatives. For example, in the emirate of Dubai, the Environment, Health and Safety is in charge of fire safety but the organization has a broad mandate including the environment and health safety. d) Fire Risks in UAE: The UAE is a growing region and thus a lot of potential security and fire risks exist in the society. Some of the risks include the lack of regulations and laws to protect tenants or have buildings enhance fire security. UAE is a large petroleum producer and as a result, most of the residents of the country rely on LPG gas which provides a security risk. The handling, storing or use of LPG is risky and this is one of the biggest risks that people living in UAE face frequently. In addition many people in the UAE live in commercial buildings and this portends several risks especially against accidents and fire (Gaad, 2010). While at the same time in case of accidents, most communities in the UAE might not be prepared to fight against fire. Lack of preparedness by communities living in the UAE presents a risk against fire security (Jones, 2008). Accidents are common in commercial and residential buildings and therefore fire risks can cause devastating destruction. Fire risks are hard to predict since they could be caused by many factors such as terrorism liked it happened in the London Subway Bombings. Another major cause of fire insecurity is industrial accidents which is likely in an industrialised region like the UAE (Davidson, 2009, p. 56). Recommendation In light of the fire fighting strategies deployed in the United Kingdom compared to those implemented by the community in the UAE, strategies have to be deployed. Several activities and procedures can be undertaken to help in the mitigation of these fire security risks. Legislation should be the first step that should be undertaken by authorities and communities in the UAE. Coming up with laws and regulations that would ensure fire security is ensured within the community. For instance, these laws should be legislated with consultation and aid of the people living in the community. These laws should cover buildings and other areas of community life where fire security is necessary (Nolan, 2010). After the enactment of the laws all stakeholders should be required to adhere to these laws and regulations. The community should also be educated on these laws and ensure that participation of the community is enhanced to ensure successful implementation of these laws (Christian, 2003). Moreover, a government ministry or department should be charged with the implementation of the fire safety and security laws within all communities. The UAE government should also come up with a fully fledged body or organisation with the sole purpose of ensuring fire safety. This organisation should facilitated with fire engines, training and qualified staff who are ready to handle any fire emergency (Jones, 2008, p. 96). This could be done in precedence to the measures undertaken in areas like the United Kingdom. The UAE government should also develop infrastructure such as putting fire hydrants in major cities and residential areas. This will assist in disaster preparedness in the likely event of occurrence of fire incidents. References Christian, S 2003, A Guide to Fire Safety Engineering, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, New York. Cote, A 2008, Fire Protection Handbook, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Boston: MA. Davidson, C 2009, “Dubai and the United Arab Emirates: Security Threats”, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 1(1), p.56. Gaad, E 2010, Inclusive Education in the Middle East, Penguin Books, London. Grice, A 2009, Fire Risk: Fire Safety Law and Its Practical Application, Springer Publishing Company, London. Grivna, M, El-Sadig M & Loney T 2012, “The legal framework and initiatives for promoting safety in the United Arab Emirates”, Journal of Injury 1(1), p. 87. Hughes, P & Ferrett, E 2012, Introduction to Health and Safety in Construction, Cengage: New York, NY. Jones, M 2008, Fire Protection Systems, John Wiley and Sons, Chicago: IL. Lee, B 2006, “Emergency Management and Public Security Systems”, The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Security, 126(2), p. 126. Nolan, D 2010, Handbook of fire and explosion protection engineering principles: for oil, gas, chemical and related facilities, Taylor & Francis, Boston, MA. Read More