Two recent severe warehouse fires in Sharjah in the UAE have undoubtedly added impetus to the Ministry of Interior’s study into the possibility of making commercial and industrial property owners responsible for part of the financial cost of extinguishing fires on their premises, if there is evidence of any negligence on the owner’s part in adhering to prescribed safety measures.
The first fire completely destroyed a tyre and vehicle servicing facility in an industrial area of the city. The cause of that fire is, as yet, unknown.
Almost a week later a fire resulted in five warehouses containing hazardous materials being gutted. The warehouses contained flammable materials and more than 150,000 tyres which helped the fire to spread quickly to the adjacent premises. Four days after the outbreak a road was still cordoned off with smoke billowing out of the large amount of debris. Again, the cause of the fire is currently unknown.
