Over 2,000 fire incidents in 2021, says Ministry

Aya Al Deeb, Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) revealed that 2,090 fire incidents happened in homes and facilities during 2021, of which 66.2% were residential, and 97.1%  were limited and minor.

The MoI explained that these fires resulted in the deaths of 9 people and the injury of 89, including 71 civilians and 18 Civil Defence personnel.

According to statistics, 775 fires broke out in Abu Dhabi, 364 in Dubai, 304 in Ajman, 293 in Sharjah, 149 in Fujairah, 145 in Ras Al Khaimah, and 60 fires in Umm Al Quwain.

Regarding the seriousness of fires, 1,110 fires were classified as limited, with a rate of 53%, while 921 were classified as minor, with a rate of 44%, 27 were serious, with a rate of 1.29%, and 32 were moderate, with a rate of 1.53%.

Sixty-six per cent of the fires were residential, as 1,385 residential fires broke out, of which 638 were in houses, 329 were in villas, 302 were in apartments in buildings and towers, 70 were in residential buildings, 32 were in residential caravans, 9 were in tents, according to the MoI.

Moreover, 254 fires broke out in commercial facilities, 102 fires in agricultural facilities such as farms and barns, 28 fires in government facilities, 14 fires in educational facilities, including schools, nurseries, institutes and universities, while 14 fires broke out in mountainous and desert places, and 3 fires in entertainment and leisure facilities.

The MoI added that the Civil Defence teams faced crowds on the road when trying to reach scenes of 129 fire incidents, while some roads had maintenance work when the teams tried to reach 12 fire scenes. The roads were normal when they tried to reach 1,916 scenes, and they were unpaved when they tried to reach 8 fire scenes, according to the MoI.

Dubai Civil Defence teams recently controlled a fire which erupted in a parking lot in the Al Qusais area in Dubai, with no injuries or casualties reported. The source added that the Civil Defence teams reached the scene within 5 minutes, followed by another team from the Rashidiya Support Centre.