Department of Municipal Affairs organizes a training course on fire fighting and eliminating their causes

In a move designed to ensure the effective application and successful requirements to the Environment, Health and Safety Management System in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and to increase awareness and knowledge of the main requirements for this system, especially with regard to fire prevention which forms is an integral part of the environment, health and safety system, the Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA) organized in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects intensive course work focused on ways to avoid fires and to take preventive measures to prevent their occurrence and eliminate the causes. 

Participated in the course, more than 30 employees working in the Environment, Health and Safety Division in the Department of Municipal Affairs, and building inspectors in the municipal system of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, represented by the DMA and the three municipalities; Abu Dhabi City, Al Ain City and the Western Region Municipality. 

The training course mainly focused on global best practices for the prevention of fires and on the latest techniques to eliminate its causes, and presented a  detailed explanation of the causes of fires highlighting the best methods which enable the fire Inspector to detect the causes of fires during the inspection process and to take preventive measures and corrective actions necessary to remove these causes. The trainees also became certified instructors to train their colleagues in the workplace. 

H.E. Mohamed Sughayer Al Dhaheri, Executive Director of the Municipal Affairs Governance Sector at the Department of Municipal Affairs, said that the DMA as an organizer of the construction and commercial sectors in the field of environment, health and safety,  has always sought to provide its staff with the knowledge and skills related to these large and dynamic sectors in terms of the actual size of the building and construction sector and the number of workers in it, which requires a focus on audit and control processes through the municipalities so as to minimize and reduce occupational injuries and accidents in this sector. 

For his part, Engineer Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Marzouki, director of environment, Health and safety management system division at the DMA said that one of the objectives of the system for this year is to adopt the matrix training on the principles and foundations of the environment, health and safety to raise the efficiency of the specialized employees in the municipal system, particularly in the building and construction industry in order to ensure the reduction of accidents and to maintain the safety and health of workers in this sector in addition to protecting the environment from pollution resulting from the building and construction in the emirate. 

At the end of the training course, H.E. Engineer Ahmed Mohammed Al Shareef, the Under Secretary of the Department of Municipal Affairs distributed certificates to the participants and thanked them for their efforts in order to enhance the safety of members of the community, wishing them all the progress and prosperity in the performance of their work and the achievement of the objectives of the municipal system to guarantee higher levels of prevention and protection from accidents and to establish an environment of residential and commercial construction with the highest degree of health and safety standards of residents and workers.