Analysis: How fire safe are the GCC's hotels
On December 31 2015, Dubai had hoped to captivate the world with fireworks, set to go off at midnight in celebration of the New Year. Instead, the eyes of the world were fixed on fire licking up the side of nearby hotel, The Address Downtown Dubai, a mere two-and-a-half hours before the scheduled festivities.
The fire at The Address Downtown Dubai is, of course, not an isolated incident within the region. The news has been regularly peppered with reports of fire at hotels across the Gulf. High profile cases reported on HotelierMiddleEast.com include the pre-opening fire at Atlantis the Palm in 2008, the fire at Kempinski Mall of the Emirates in June 2014, and incidents at both the Hilton Hotel Makkah and City Seasons Al Ain in July 2015.
Given the number of GCC hotel fires in the last two years alone, the question “are hotels in the region fire safe?” is inevitable now.
Given the results of two informal polls run by HotelierMiddleEast.com last month, the response to this question from our readers appears largely to be “no”. But not a simple “no”.
Two key areas of concern were highlighted in response to our polls: construction of hotels in the Gulf, and staff training at hotels in the Gulf. While Emaar has only given a relatively cagey response to the media regarding the initial cause of fire, and the spread of fire, Dubai’s police chief Khamis Mattar Al-Mazeina had said in local media that the The Address Downtown Hotel fire was caused by an electrical short, and also revealed that that no flammable liquids such as petrol played a role.
Prevention then, became the main topic of discussion, and two further issues have become hot topics among hoteliers: maintenance of fire prevention systems, and guest behaviour within hotels.
According to our readers, the majority opinion is that fire-safe construction is the biggest issue facing hotels in the region.
However, other reports suggest that the speed at which the fire spread up the exterior of the hotel indicates the cladding of the building was not fire-safe.
Regulations passed in 2012 in the UAE state that properties must be built with fire-safe external cladding. Of course, properties built prior to 2012, of which The Address is just one, may not have met this new regulation. A solution available to older hotels is to install fire-retardant panels at intervals across the building’s exterior. Whether the cost of this will be viewed as an investment by older hotels remains to be seen.
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Where industry experts agree is that training staff to cope with fire is a hotel’s best route to prevent and control outbreak.
In the case of The Address fire, Dubai Civil Defence were already present in Downtown Dubai from 2pm the same day, due to the fireworks scheduled at midnight. This may have saved time and lives. Not all misfortunes can be so fortuitously timed. The point made by security experts is: staff must be trained to conduct rapid evacuation themselves.
“If you have staff ready in such emergencies, and can react, and respond in time, this will minimise the number of accidents, and the number of lives lost in an emergency,” explained Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay director of safety and loss prevention Wael Nahtay.
Both Nahtay, and Kempinski Ajman director of security Essam Samadoney confirmed that hotels ought to conduct full fire drills twice a year, where all staff and all hotel guests are evacuated.
Some hotels, Nahtay added, want to avoid the disruption this may be deemed to cause guests. Both Nahtay and Samadoney are firm that this is counter-productive in terms of guest confidence in the hotel. “In cases where the hotel is busy all year, sometimes the management will decide to do a drill only once a year,” said Nahtay.
He added: “One time is not enough. Guests appreciate participating in a drill. It means guests know, this hotel is safe and they need to stay in this hotel.”
At Kempinski properties worldwide, Samadoney added, the hotel group responds to events such as The Address fire, not by changing safety policies, but by making sure all staff are refreshed on current procedures. “Just to confirm that all the team members and all the departments know important safety procedures, and take the training seriously.”
Additional measures include having up to 25% of staff trained in first aid and CPR. Also flagged is the necessity of civil defence training for 25% of staff. For example, the new Westin Doha Hotel & Spa has created its own ‘fire brigade’, comprised of hotel staff members from across departments. “We hold regular training for all associates of the hotel. These processes allow us to ensure everyone always knows what to do in case of an emergency,” the hotel’s director of engineering Pedro Cristino told Hotelier Middle East.
Considering reports of faulty sprinklers (since refuted by an Emaar spokesperson), is fire-fighting equipment in hotels maintained and kept up to date?
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According to Nahtay, an FM200 fire suppression system is a requirement for hotels in the region. The system attempts to fight fire within 30 seconds with zero loss. However, as with many regulations, it is one imposed only on newly built properties.
“The FM200 system is followed widely in Gulf. Our hotel [Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay] opened at the end of 2015, and it is using this type of system. Usually this system is the most expensive. However, some will try to save money, and try to secure the building with other systems,” Nahtay added.
The Westin Doha’s Cristino added that once installed, all equipment must be diligently maintained: “Following the construction and opening of the hotel, the operations team must ensure always that all emergency exits are clean, dry and free from any constraining objects; that all detection (fire and smoke detectors) and extinguishing systems (fire sprinklers and extinguishers) are working, through a preventive maintenance plan.”
Samadoney added: “The fire-fighting system in general, should be checked every month. Fire extinguishers, every week. This is the normal procedure.”
Another consideration when it comes to fire safety, in addition to training and other systems, is hotel guest behaviour.
Nahtay tackled one of many topics that has dominated industry conversation of late: the use of shisha and bakhoor in guest rooms.
“Prevention training is the most important. How to discover hazards, how to prevent them from the beginning. In the Middle East, we understand that one guest habit is the use of bakhoor (incense burners) and shisha.
“It’s one of the things that we need to change. Of course, we do not allow that in our hotel. To allow guests to smoke in rooms is really a potential hazard,” he said.
At the time of going to press, Emaar had not yet responded to our request for comment.