Dubai, UAE: More than ever, the UAE is dedicated to promoting fire safety, affirming the strategic objective of the Civil Defence department to reduce the incidence of fire accidents significantly during the timeframe of 2017-2021. This was revealed at the recent Fire Prevention Conference1 held in Abu Dhabi to mark the World Civil Defence Day that is celebrated internationally on March 1.
The conference highlighted proactive measures towards installation of fire detectors as well as the launch of the UAE Fire and Safety Code, which aims to encourage cooperation between contractors, consultants and residents.
With new changes on the horizon, what does this mean for the HVAC sector? Alexander Castellanos, Associate Director, WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, shared his insight into the impact these changes will bring, saying, “There are two things that will happen: It will affect the amount of locations where you need smoke control, but you can’t say it’s a significant new requirement; it is just clarifying that they need it in more locations.” He added, “But the message of self-control is not going to change. So, it is not like we are going to require new systems; the systems in the market will be in more places.”
In Castellanos’ view, the important thing is to properly put to use the equipment available in the market and install them in new locations. “It won’t affect the HVAC industry as a whole,” he concluded, pointing out that bigger buildings will have a bigger impact.
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