In a joint press release, commenting on the tragic fire that occurred in a residential building in the Al-Manqaf area last week and the outbreak of other fires in several locations across the country in the past few days, the Kuwaiti associations that are members of the Global Network of Civil Society Organizations for Disaster Risk Reduction (GNDR), namely the Kuwait Environment Protection Society and the Kuwaiti Society for Crisis and Emergency Management, offered their heartfelt condolences to the State of Kuwait, its Emir, government and people, expressing their sorrow and condolences to the families of the victims.
Dr. Wajdan Al-Aqab, Regional Advisor to the World Organization of Civil Society Organizations for Disaster Risk Reduction, Assistant General Coordinator for the Arabian Gulf in the Arab Network for Environment and Development, and President of the Kuwait Environment Protection Society, stated the need to verify compliance with security and safety requirements in residential complexes and all governmental and private facilities and installations, in order to protect the lives of their residents and users, in addition to facilitating the tasks and protecting rescue and firefighting personnel in emergency situations.
She explained that one of the most important steps to protect communities from disasters is to take precautionary measures for any disaster, such as adopting early warning systems that would alert residents of buildings, residential and labor complexes, and by verifying full compliance with security and safety requirements in vital facilities, warehouses and stores, and ensuring the clarity of the evacuation plan in them.
She called on “all concerned parties, each according to its specialization and functional tasks in the state, to adopt Quality Control in applying security and safety requirements and adhering to the capacity limits of facilities and ensuring that there are no such violations in various residential and commercial complexes and facilities, in addition to ensuring Quality Assurance in procedures.”.
She added, “What happened in the Al-Manqaf building may be nothing but a warning bell to everyone about the danger of violating security and safety requirements and control standards, and the failure to comply with quality control rules in monitoring the extent to which facilities adhere to those conditions and not exceed the capacity of any facility so that it does not become a cause of disrupting rescue operations, God forbid.“.
In the joint statement, Dr. Fawzi Al-Khuwari, Chairman of the Kuwaiti Association for Crisis and Emergency Management, stressed the importance of following global guidelines to mitigate risks and the necessity of adhering to the binding national framework in such violations, as well as complying with regional and international agreements related to highly flammable materials, hazardous waste, and others, and launching continuous inspection campaigns on manufacturing, storage, and safe disposal sites to ensure adherence to proper procedures and public health and safety.
He emphasized “the importance of ensuring that there are no hazardous materials, chemical and industrial waste, or highly flammable materials in those locations, as a proactive precautionary measure based on the need to activate monitoring and inspection systems by the relevant authorities in accordance with quality, security, and safety standards. Given the danger of highly flammable materials, which arises not only from their neglect in unsuitable locations but also from prolonged storage, and considering that the extended period of neglect in protecting them contributes to their transformation into a disaster for the population, negligence in handling hazardous materials must be included in the list of proactive protection measures to prevent haphazard storage in residential areas, as this leads to significant losses of life, property, and infrastructure.”.
The two organizations concluded their statement by praising the swift action of His Excellency the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahd Al-Yousef Al-Sabah, in taking firm control of matters in accordance with the directives of His Highness the Emir of the country, Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, may God protect and preserve him, and his keenness to follow up on all levels, hoping to draw attention to the importance of including the relevant civil society institutions in the national committees for crisis and emergency management in order to benefit from their capabilities and experiences.
