KUWAIT: Acting Chief of Kuwait Fire Force Maj Gen Khaled Abdullah Fahad affirmed Sunday that a project linking fire alarm systems in buildings with KFF’s central command has the potential to save lives, protect properties and achieve societal safety. In an interview with KUNA, he explained that a team has been tasked with looking into the linkage project. On inspection campaigns and the direct handling of violations, he hailed the keenness and intent of First Deputy Prime Minister, Defense Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah.

Fahad said the venture is a major project linking more than 50,000 buildings to the central command and aims to expedite response to incidents and emergent cases. The project is in three parts, he explained, divided by types of buildings — new buildings, older buildings already equipped with fire detection systems and buildings with no fire alarm systems. Panels will be installed, where in case of an incident, would notify the central command and allow action to be taken within 120 seconds.

The panel in the building will have to be installed by the landlord, Fahad added, indicating that at first it will be for bigger and more vital buildings, like hospitals. KFF statistics for the year 2023 indicate total of incidents dealt with reached 16,080, 4,394 of which were fires, 1,257 in residences. Farwaniya was cited as the governorate with the most fires, and the most common cause of fires in all governorates was electrical faults. The longest fire incident was between 10 to 19 minutes, while the number of firefighters injured reached 38, a 25 percent decrease since 2022. — KUNA