Increase seen in fire accidents, reaching 12 per day

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KUWAIT CITY, July 10: With a rate of 12 fires per day, Kuwait sleeps and wakes up to news about fire accidents in the country. According to sources from the fire sector, a frightening increase in fire accidents have been observed in the country since the start of the summer season this year, particularly with the extremely high temperatures. Such a situation requires developing quick solutions to protect lives and properties, reports Al-Qabas daily. The sources stated that neglecting preventive requirements, poor storage, pileup of things, and randomness are the top mistakes that many people make, and lead to fire incidents. They highlighted an increase in the rate of fire accidents with every summer season annually due to some people resorting to operating air conditioners at a non-stop rate, which increases loads on the electric current and increases the possibility of fire incidents.

Short-circuit
The sources explained that the firefighting teams dealt with about 2,150 various fire incidents during the period from January 2023 to July 3 at a rate of 12 fires per day. Electrical short-circuit alone caused 36 percent of those fire break outs. The number of fire incidents of various types that were combated by the fire sector amounted to about 1,850. The number of fire incidents dealt with by other parties reached 300, bringing the total number of fire incidents during the first half of this year to 2,150. About 697 fire incidents occurred in residential areas, 695 in other places, 262 in non-residential places, and 496 in land transportation.

Regarding the main causes of fires, the sources explained that electrical short circuit was responsible for approximately 762 fire incidents, constituting about 36 percent of the total fire incidents. This is followed by about 362 fire incidents caused by throwing of cigarette butts. In third place is children tampering with a heat source or fl ammable materials, causing about 215 fire incidents. In the fourth place are fire incidents caused intentionally by human beings, which constitute about 197 fire incidents at a rate of about nine percent of the total fire incidents. The fire control teams in Ahmadi Governorate ranked first in fighting the fires that broke out in the governorate, totalling about 490 fire incidents. In second place are the fire teams of Jahra Governorate that dealt with about 480 fire incidents, and then the firefighters of Farwaniya Governorate in third place as they dealt with about 475 fire incidents.

Hawally Governorate came in fourth place, as its firefighting teams dealt with 264 fire incidents, followed by Capital Governorate’s firefighting teams that dealt with 247 fire incidents. In last place is the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate which recorded 194 fire incidents. According to a firefighting source, fire accidents resulting from electrical overload, electrical short circuits, vehicle fires, and child tampering reach their peak during the summer season each year. Bachelors’ homes are sometimes like “time bombs”, as electrical accidents abound. This is because these dwellings are divided into several homes that operate under one transformer.

This contributes to fire accidents in the house, or an increase in the electrical load on the main transformer in the area, which results in an explosion of the transformer. The most prominent cause of vehicle fires in the summer season is the owners’ negligence in carrying out periodic inspections of the vehicles, which causes mechanical failures, especially with the high temperatures, and leads to vehicle fires. Also, cases of tampering by children increase during the summer holidays, as they set fire to garbage containers, trees, and even vehicles. Many cases have been registered in this regard.

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