The procedure is mandatory to preserve lives and property

The deadline for installing a smoke detector in homes ends next September

Hassantuk connects homes to civil defense operations rooms. Archival

The UAE Digital Government has confirmed that the installation of fire detectors is mandatory in residential homes, as well as the participation of homes and villas in the electronic linking and monitoring system of the Civil Defense, with the aim of enhancing safety and civil protection, and preserving lives and property by responding immediately to reports of home fires.

She stated that in September 2020, the Council of Ministers adopted a decision to make this procedure mandatory, and granted owners of existing residential homes a period of up to three years from the issuance of the decision to amend the conditions of their residential homes in accordance with its provisions.

According to the official statistics of the Ministry of Interior, a number of fires have been recorded in the past years in homes and residential buildings, causing the death of people, in addition to many material losses, despite the efforts made by the state to reduce fires and their dangers, and residential house fires accounted for 66% of the number of fires in buildings and facilities in 2019, and the same percentage in 2018.

The digital government referred to the smart protection and control system (Hassantuk), to detect and prevent smoke and fire in commercial buildings and apartments, launched by the General Command of Civil Defense in the country, as "Hassantuk" aims to make the UAE one of the safest countries in the world, as well as reduce fire rates and deaths caused by fires, compared to other countries around the world.

She stated that the Cabinet's decision applies to all existing or to be built residential houses in the country, and stipulated that the federal or local government agencies concerned with licenses for the construction of residential houses in the country require the installation of fire detectors, and subscribe to the electronic system, as a condition for granting a certificate of completion of the residential house.

Based on the decision, the federal and local governments bear the costs of installing these devices in low-income residential homes, and the federal government has previously covered these costs for residential homeowners who receive social assistance from the Ministry of Community Development.

The Ministry of Interior called on the owners of houses and villas to quickly register in the "Hassantuk" system, and to link their homes to the civil defense operations rooms at the state level, according to a smart system in which smoke detectors in homes are linked to the operations rooms of the civil defense, so that the occurrence of fires is self-reported after giving the necessary alerts to residents of residential houses.

She stressed that "Hassantuk" is the ideal solution for fire protection, as it works to follow up homes in the UAE around the clock, seven days a week, and respond to any incident related to fire.

Accurate and intelligent information

The fire safety system contains different types of sensors, which can detect smoke and heat, as all sensors are connected to the main alarm panel, which transmits alarms directly in real time to the sensing and control center for verification, and then the alarm is sent if it is correct to the concerned authorities in the security defense immediately within a maximum of 120 seconds after receiving it, which provides the concerned authorities with accurate and intelligent information, which makes access to a place Fire is faster and more accurate, making cities safer and safer.