Residents, citizens, welcome fire alarm rule in Oman

#ReadersResponse: Residents and citizens in the Sultanate have welcomed the possibility of making fire alarms in homes and offices compulsory.
Oman’s government authorities recently met to discuss the compulsory installation of fire alarms in people’s houses and shops, a move that has been met positively.
“This is a very good idea,” said Cholorain Al. “But we should keep the following in mind while implementing this. The fire alarm should be advanced and satisfy Omani standards of the environment as most families are working. The water supply station should be next to every house so that it can be easy for trained people to control the fire while waiting for the fire fighters, and there should also be relevant education and training through school or work places.”
Zahid Saeed added, “This is very good for every home if a water pipe system is developed before the construction of a new house. Nowadays, fire safety systems can save many lives by preventing these fires through fire detectors and alarms. If some people are interested, they can use extinguisher cylinders to prevent fires in homes. I hope everyone will be happy to adhere to this new safety system network.”
“Yes, it’s a good move,” said Praveen Jahagirdar. “Fire alarm systems should be mandatory for all the homes and buildings. Also, the installer of the fire safety system should give basic fire fighting training to the residents of the building so that they can operate fire extinguishers during an emergency.”
Unfortunate incidents of fires breaking out across the Sultanate, leading to a significant loss of life and property are regularly found in news publications, and the government is now taking efforts to stamp out these fires.
“I feel it’s a good move for the safety of our family and society as well,” added Alok Jais. “Most of the time we are at the office and our families are alone at home. If there’s a fire outbreak, the fire alarm will be a good saviour. Thanks so much for this brilliant home safety step.”
Basha Chand Pasha was also of a similar opinion. He said, “I believe it is a good move to have fire alarms at residences. Also, I would strongly recommend the installation of fire fighting equipment with proper operational training.”
“Yes this is definitely a good move,” added Preeti Chacko. “Fire alarms are important because they can give you an early signal towards something that could turn tragic, and also save your life. A fire alarm alerts you when you are busy, working or sleeping. You can therefore take action before major damage takes place, thus saving you the cost of property loss.”
“In addition, this saves insurance companies a lot of damage cost,” she said. “More than half of house fires take place in homes that do not have fire alarms, and mostly at night, resulting in a high number of deaths. It is easy to get trapped during the start of a fire. An early detection can get you out of a situation that could potentially turn into a tragedy; so this is definitely a good move.”
Residents in Oman were looking forward to the implementation of this fire warning system in the near future, hoping it would be made mandatory.
“It’s a good move but it’s not going to work without operational training, because many of the residential buildings’ watchmen may not know how to operate these so make sure they’re also trained,” added S. Masuma Rizvi.
Omani national Shabib Al Kalbani added, “Letting agents and landlords should make this compulsory.”