Every year during summer fire incidents caused by counterfeit, faulty or aging electrical gadgets risk human lives and do damage to property in Oman.
Sending a cautionary note in this regard, an official at the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulances (PACDA) said that consequences of counterfeit electrical products can be fatal. “Most fire incidents are triggered by short circuits due to use of counterfeit electrical gadgets and aging wiring in old buildings,” said the official. According to a report by the National Centre for Statistics and Information, a fire case happens every three hours in the country, and 23 per cent of them are reported from residential areas.
These are followed by transportation, agricultural and other establishments. With mercury started soaring, fire incidents are expected to increase unless people themselves take precautionary measures, he said. As far as the old houses in the city area, a Muscat Municipality official said the civic body does periodic review of these residential buildings. “Owners of most aging buildings are served notices for demolition,” he said. An official at the Public Authority for Consumer Protection said that the Sultanate has strict rules against counterfeit goods. “It is prohibited to trade in adulterated, corrupt and counterfeit products that are not authorised for trading,” he said.
Electric fires are often caused by poor wiring by unqualified electricians using fake gadgets in circuit breakers. The PACDA official urged members of the public to utilise the services of qualified technicians when they want to buy electrical goods because they can easily distinguish between counterfeit products and genuine ones. “Awareness should be brought among workers, especially those who stay in labour camps. Also workers in factories should be trained on fire safety. Human error or a mechanical failure can lead to fires in factories during summer,” he said. The official said that the authority has strict regulations as far as fire safety norms are concerned. “We do routine inspections at factories, establishments and labour camps to see that firefighting equipment intact. If anybody found guilty of not conceding to the fire safety standards, their licences can be suspended,” he warned.
The authority is in charge of issuing fire safety licenses in the Sultanate. Most of the recent fire cases were caused by mainly due to improper electric cable connections, lack of proper machinery maintenance, improper storage of inflammable liquids and short circuits. According to experts, electrical fires can result from using counterfeit electrical gadgets like sockets, cables or circuit breakers. “Fulty and aging wiring is one of the major causes of electrical fires at homes. These can be avoided by having regular checks carried out on the condition of cables, switches, sockets and other accessories,” said Martin, an electric engineer.
Source: OmanObserver