Inferior wirings to blame for worksite fires

A SPATE of fires which struck under-construction buildings in Doha recently were caused by the use of substandard electrical wirings and the improper training of the unskilled construction labourers, experts in the industry believe.

Reports of fires engulfing under-construction buildings have been on the rise recently. In most cases the incidents have been found to occur during the water-proofing or insulation works.

“The heat insulation used in the walls and roofs of the building is an extremely inflammable material. Extra precautions and high levels of training are the only ways to reduce the chances of a fire incident,” said an official of a waterproofing company.

According to him, the trend of insulating the walls of a building has risen in the last decade. Earlier, most of the buildings in Qatar only got the usual roof insulation, to avoid rain water seeping in.

There are two ways to insulate walls and roofs, through fire retardants – an expensive method – and the commonly used conventional insulation, the official said.

“Another aspect is the level of communication between us and the labourers most of who are now being recruited from as far as Vietnam and China. It really becomes hard to explain to them, how to go about exercising caution while at worksites,” he added.

“Every material at a construction site, and I mean every single material, is a potential fire hazard, especially when you have your people smoking and making tea there,” said the owner of a leading construction firm.

“But now the Civil Defence is really being strict on safety compliances. The new towers have to have fire-lifts (pressurised units in case of a breakout) and a host of other safety prerequisites. The process has been streamlined and disciplined as well. I would say the buildings coming up now will be very safe,” he said.

According to him, changes in the building codes meant that a building permit cannot be obtained anymore without submitting the design to the Civil Defence for approval.

“Also you cannot start the electrical work, before a team of Civil Defence clears it again,” he explained.

“We in our company do a weekly safety refresher for all our employees. We have also employed a safety officer that oversees and trains while ensuring no untoward incident happens. But less than 50% of the construction companies in Qatar do not even have a safety officer,” he added.

Figures obtained by Civil Defence seem to correspond with the rising number of incidents as well.

March 2007 saw a total of 66 fire incidents, of which one was due to cigarette smoking, 13 due to short circuiting, one gas leakage, three overheating, 44 “undefined” and four “others”.

However, this year in March, the total number of reported fire breakouts was 113. Smoking caused one, 17 were due to short circuits, two due to overheating, 90 were undefined and three “others”.

The category “undefined”, according to an official, meant that the investigation was ongoing or the cause could not be determined.

Fire incidents rose to 82 in January 2008 from 57 in the same month last year. In February 2008, 80 incidents were reported compared with 57 in February 2007. The most number of fires last year was reported in August (122), while the total for the year stood at 994.

“This is huge. The reasons are multiple as well. You have a population surge, an increase in construction, and various other factors. But we are prepared for it. The Civil Defence is working on increasing the number of fire stations throughout the country,” the official said.

An official at Qatar International Safety Centre called for more industry awareness and training.