Fire safety in UAE buildings will get a boost with Dubai Municipality planning to set up its own laboratory to test building materials and products for fire resistance. The civic body is in discussions with Dubai Civil Defence to finalise the establishment of the new laboratory, Khalid Mohammad Sherif Al Awadi, Assistant Director-General for Health, Safety and Environment Control, said.Once operational, the fire-testing lab, which will work under the Dubai Central Laboratory (DCL) of Dubai Municipality, will be used by the civil defence authorities in the country to test and certify fire resistance of building materials and fire safety products and systems, said Amin Ahmad Mohammad, Director of DCL.
Ali Ahmad Elian, head of Engineering Materials Laboratory Section at DCL, said the proposed lab’s building has been constructed in Al Warsan area and it is expected to be equipped for operations by the end of next year. “It will be the first government facility in the UAE to test and certify building materials and products for fire safety,” Elian said. He said the authorities have so far been depending on some overseas laboratories and two private labs in Dubai. “We had very limited resources to do fire testing at DCL.”
He pointed out that the lab will facilitate the implementation of the updated fire safety code that is expected soon. The fire safety code was revised following several fire accidents including the New Year Eve’s blaze at The Address Hotel minutes before the New Year fireworks display at neighbouring BurjKhalifa. Officials said the updated fire code is expected to be implemented by the civil defence authorities soon. The code stipulates strict and sustainable fire-resistant standards and requirements for building materials and the lab will help ensure that they are compliant.
“Fire resistance of cladding, thermal insulation materials, concrete blocks, and other products will be tested at the lab. Based on the results, civil defence will approve and certify them. In the later stages, fire protection systems like fire alarms and sprinklers will also be tested. “Tests will be conducted to see how long the building materials can stand fires. The process will include various equipment, furnaces, and walls to simulate fire accidents and that is why the lab has been located away from the city,” he explained.
