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Sharjah warns residents against using chairs in balconies

SHARJAH: In an attempt to curb child casualties due to fall from buildings in the emirate, Sharjah Municipality has urged the residents not to deck up their balconies with furniture.

The municipality has also warned residents against using balconies as a store, which could enable children to climb on top of these things, increasing the risk of them falling out, reported Emirates 24/7.
“#Awareness: Putting chairs or other furniture in balconies or near windows could introduce the risk of falls and death.

“Always keep the windows and balcony doors closed, tightly,” Sharjah Municipality highlighted through it’s official social media network.

The campaign hopes to spread awareness, urging parents and caregivers to ensure their building windows and balconies are secure, and devoid of any risks.

Over the years, there have been many cases in the UAE wherein young lives were lost due to unsecured balconies or windows in high-rises, the report said.

Few days ago, a 14-year-old Arab girl fell to her death from her family’s fifth floor apartment in Sharjah. A week earlier, a 16-year-old girl sustained serious injuries after she fell from her 4th floor apartment in Sharjah’s Al Buheira, said the news portal.

In May, a three-year-old girl reportedly died after falling from her seventh floor building in Al Qassimiya.

In April this year, Arabic daily ‘Al Bayan’ reported that the Sharjah Civil Defence had unveiled new specificaitons for all new residential buildings under construction and compulsory modifications to existing ones to prevent children from falling out of windows and balconies.

The new rules compel owners of old buildings to instal protections on windows and to raise the height of balcony walls from 1.2 metres to 1.5 metres.

Lt. Col. Sami Khamis Al Naqbi, Director of the Department of Civil Protection and Safety of Sharjah Civil Defence,stressed that windows in old buildings should not be at a height less than 1 metre from the floor.

Khalifa bin Hidah Al Suwaidi, Director of Engineering Department at Sharjah Municipality, reportedly said the municipality was planning changes to specifications for windows and balconies for all buildings in the city. The height of windows and balconies from the floor has been raised from 1 metres to 1.20 metres.

All residents will be required to instal locks for windows and ensure that they cannot be opened more than 5 to 10 centimetres, reported Emirates 24/7.

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