UL, a global safety science company, led a workshop on fire safety for officials from the Egyptian Fire Protection Association (EFPA) and the US-based National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), discussing new technology and the challenges facing todays firefighters
During the course of the one-day workshop, UL experts met with high-ranking officials from across Egypt to discuss the latest generation of fire safety technology now available on the market, recent changes to the rules and regulations surrounding the use of new technologies and best practices employed by fire safety companies and civil defence departments around the world.
The importance of carefully regulated standards and codes pertaining to fire safety and fire safety equipment was also discussed.
In response to blazes that have affected high-rise residential buildings in the GCC in recent years, officials from UL spoke about developments to improve the safety rating of façade cladding used on multi-story towers in the region.
Experts from UL also spoke about improvements that can be made to the in-house fire safety equipment used in high-rise towers, such as sprinklers and water pumps, as well as the issue of counterfeit fire safety equipment making its way on to the market, before highlighting the need for proper and rigorous certification of all goods and equipment to help ensure their authenticity and effectiveness.
Drew Azzara, NFPA's executive director of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, said, "Regulations are constantly updated either in response to incidents or to help prevent fires, so it is important to keep abreast of best practices and techniques used around the region and beyond."
Hatem Khier, an EFPA board member, said, "This workshop offered officials access to invaluable information that they will be able to put into practice on the ground across Egypt. Fire safety is an area of great importance, especially in built up cities with lots of tall or high-rise buildings. It is vitally important that civil defence officials and their teams are up to date with the latest techniques that have been developed to safely and quickly tackle blaze and to save lives."
Hamid Syed, UL vice president & GM for UL Middle East, said, "We were delighted to lead the workshop in Egypt and we applaud the authorities for the work they are doing to take steps such as these to improve fire prevention practices and methods."
