A new Civil Defence control room linked to real-time fire and safety information at airports, ports and commercial buildings will be launched in Dubai soon. As part of a testing phase, operators monitored huge screens inside the control room at the authority’s headquarters showing live feeds and data from buildings across Downtown Dubai, Deira, Bur Dubai, Jebel Ali, the airports and from ships out at sea. “All information about the building and the contact number of the person in charge will be with the control room so quick action can be taken in any emergency, such as a fire or gas leak,” said Lt Col Ali Al Mutawa, assistant director general for smart services. “In case of sensitive buildings that, for instance, contain hazardous material, there is a predetermined set of resources the operator will mobilise.”
Information on flights is beamed with the live feed detecting any emergency.
“The airports are a free zone and are under the airport authority. If any incident related to an air crash happens inside the airport, the airport authority has their own private fire fighting unit and they will be the lead and we will be the backup,” Lt Col Al Mutawa said. “But if there is a fire inside any building in any free zone, we will take the lead. If any air crash takes place outside a free zone we will take the lead.”
The development is part of a comprehensive Civil Defence Dubai Life Safety Dashboard framework that began six years ago with mandatory fire alarm systems installed in 53,823 commercial buildings linked to the existing control room. This app will allow owners to alert the control room about emergencies through their phones. “The SOS application helps to monitor the safety condition. Emergency cases can be reported at one click of a button. It will improve response time and reduce injuries caused by accidents,” said Maj Gen Rashid Al Matrooshi, director general of Dubai Civil Defence.”It will help choose equipment needed for a specific incident so we can respond quickly and effectively.”
