31/01/2004
Al-Ahram Newspaper 2004/JANUARY /31
The current Egyptian fire code has some shortcomings when it comes to protecting private houses from fires. Calls are being raised to amend it. It should set out the basic measures to prevent that other buildings – including houses – are burnt to the ground as recently happened. (Available in Arabic – German in PDF )
The recent fire-caused collapse of a building in Cairo shed light on the shortcomings of the current Egyptian fire code. This piece of legislation does not deal with private houses as it should. Indeed, it ought to stipulate means to protect them from fires, especially in light of the fact that natural gas is replacing gas cylinders in some households for the first time ever. Here comes the importance of having at least a manual fire extinguisher in every house. In this regard, the positive consequences of the new traffic code in terms of preventing fires are indeed encouraging.