OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH ALERT

Issued By: QHSE - ALDAR Projects Date of Issue: 05/07/2023

Ref. No: OSHA/07/05/07/2023 Expiry Date: Until Further Notice
For Enquiries on this Alert Please Contact your OSH Department. Target Zero Incident
Fire Safety Hazards and Control Measures

Unsafe storage arrangements:

Poorly maintained plant and equipment at the
site, resulting in fire incident.
Accumulated construction debris at the site Typical example of fire alarm and firefighting Typical example of fire points provided at
Blocked access; materials stacked too close to
and beside storage area posing potential system installed at various facilities (Stores, various locations of the project based on the
the ceiling; Inadequate firefighting
threat of fire hazard. etc.) as mandated by the authority. dynamic fire risk assessment.
arrangements, etc.

Description
Every year, it is evident that construction sites experience numerous fire incidents that have catastrophic ramifications. These incidents occur due to inadequate fire safety planning and
the implementation of safety control measures. Fire poses a significant threat to the construction industry, potentially leading to loss of life, damage to assets and properties. Moreover,
it causes significant delays in construction progress, financial implications, and can even impact the surrounding community and the general public. The primary goal of fire safety in
construction is to prevent fires from occurring in the first place, achieved through appropriate and thorough fire safety planning, arrangements, and allocation of resources. Ultimately,
the paramount objective is to ensure the safety of individuals involved.
Essentially, prior to constructing any office, store, rest areas (temporary structure), a specific logistic layout shall be prepared and submitted to PMC/Consultant for review and approval.
During the review process, the PMC/Consultant will take into account several important factors, including but not limited to obtaining approvals from Civil defence and other relevant
authorities, ensuring the provision of appropriate firefighting equipment such as automatic fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and fire hose reel systems. Additionally, the use of fire-
rated or fire-retardant materials for constructing the temporary facilities, maintaining a safe distance between structures, implementing store compartmentation/segregation
arrangements, and designing a logistic layout that allows easy access for fire vehicles in case of emergencies are all key considerations. Furthermore, it is crucial to store all flammable
and combustible materials outside the buildings or villas during the construction stage. (This shall be implemented in all ‘ALDAR Projects’ to eliminate the risk of fire).
Example of Most Common Sources of Ignition and Fire hazard in a Construction Site:
A. Electricity is one of the main causes, which includes electrical faults such as substandard connection, F. Poor maintenance of electrical portable power tools and equipment.
overload, short circuit, etc. G. Heat transfer (conduction) between hot surfaces and thermal
B. Smoking cigarette at undesignated locations and haphazardly disposed cigarette butts. connection.
C. Hot works (welding, cutting, etc.) emitting flying sparks, hot snags, high temperature, etc. H. Self-ignition due to oxidation and high temperature.
D. Unsafely stored combustible & flammable materials at the site (within building basements/ floor, etc.) I. High temperature due to friction or extreme weather condition.
and lack of implementing appropriate fire prevention control measures requirements. J. Poor Housekeeping and haphazardly accumulated waste materials.
E. Poorly maintained construction plant and equipment (e.g., Electrical faults, oil leakage, etc.) K. Arson or deliberate sabotage.
Recommended Control measures to prevent and reduce the probability and severity of fire incident incudes (but not limited to):
1. Develop a specific ‘Fire Protection and Prevention Plan’, together with risk assessment based on the site condition (Scope and Nature of Activity) and communicate to all involved
parties (Fire aspects shall be included in risk assessment for each area - office, storage, construction activities, etc.).
2. Competent personnel shall be assigned to look after storage areas with adequate resources to ensure safe storage, stacking of materials and full compliance with fire safety
requirements. Daily site tours, Periodic fire safety inspections and audits shall be planned and conducted by the project involved parties to ascertain the compliance and any
deviations, wherein action shall be taken promptly to rectify.
3. Strict implementation of “No Smoking Policy” and any violation shall be subject to stringent disciplinary action.
4. Ensure all Electrical installations/Equipment and portable power tools are safe and sound with sufficient capacity for the intended use and shall be designed, installed, inspected,
repaired and maintained by competent personnel.
5. Hot Work Permit system shall be established and implemented effectively and monitored on a consistent basis to ensure its efficiency.
6. Chemicals/ highly flammable and combustible materials shall not be stored inside the building under construction.
7. Proactive fire safety controls and preventive measures shall be planned and provided for all Stores/Offices/Under construction buildings/Above ground fuel tanks, etc., such as,
• Obtaining Civil Defense and relevant authority approvals for the facilities (For e.g., offices, labor rest area, storage areas and fuel tanks in construction sites.);
• Use of fire resistant / retardant materials for constructing any facilities at the project;
• Safe distance and spacing between the office/building/storage facilities (Avoid double stacking of Containers);
• Installation of detection (Smoke/Heat detectors) and Fire alarm system, portable and automatic fire extinguishers;
• Fire hose reel for offices and storage areas;
• In the event of building under construction, then adequate temporary fire riser system with hose reel at every floor level covering the entire work area and suitable fire alarm system shall
be provided;
• Competent Security control to prevent unauthorized access to work premises including CCTV surveillance;
• Contingency evacuation plan and procedures including periodic mock drills;
• Trained Emergency Response Team, Adequate Fire Marshals and first aiders;
• Labelling and signposting the storage areas and its contents; Availability of SDS & COSHH assessments; etc.;
8. Periodic maintenance arrangement (availability of contract from approved entity) for the installed fire detection, alarm and fire-fighting system.
9. Adequate arrangement and resources shall be in place to ensure good housekeeping and prompt disposal of construction debris. Never allow the accumulation of combustible
and flammable waste at the site to be piled up at the rubbish collection point. Prompt removal shall be adhered to prevent potential fire hazard.
10. Ensure physical control measures to keep away the source of heat/ ignition away from combustible materials (Heater, flood light, etc.).
11. Provision of emergency exits (Directional signages & emergency lightings) & assembly points (Primary & secondary with sufficient space to gather all the employees during an
emergency).
12. Periodic maintenance program of plant/equipment by competent employees along with appropriate records (e.g., electrical connections, battery, leakage, etc.).
13. Chart/details of ERT (Emergency Response team and Fire Wardens) shall be posted at strategic locations at Office/Storage/Building under Construction.
14. Conduct regular awareness training to all employees on the fire hazards, risks and the control measures that shall be adhered to prevent any potential fire incident.
Important Note: During summer period the potential for likelihood of fire incident increases substantially, hence more focus and inspections are deemed necessary.
For Further information Please refer to OSHAD-SF CoP 1.0 Hazardous Materials, CoP 43.0 Temporary Structures, OSHAD-SF Element 06 Emergency Management, UAE Fire and Life Safety Code
of Practice 2018 or any updated revision & ALDAR OSHMS- Section 1 Element 07 & 08 & Appendix 15 https://www.adphc.gov.ae/Legislation/Code-of-Practices
Issue Details: The information in this document shall be disseminated to all relevant key personnel within your project/entities in order to be read / understood, then shall be communicated to all
the personnel under their control and supervision for understanding and implementation. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in non‐conformance during OSH Audit & Inspection.
Distribution: All PMC’s, Consultants’, and Principal Contractor’s. CC: ALDAR Projects

ALDAR OSH- MS Rev 07 / 05-01-2023 1 of 1 Appendix 6