Residents in Sharjah said that the incidents of children falling from the balcony of the buildings, which took place this year, have become an obsession for them, stressing that this phenomenon has resumed during the past months, after it shrunk during the past years, noting that the reason for this is that The presence of adequate protection systems on the balconies and windows, asking the official and governmental authorities in the emirate to find a mechanism, obligating the owners to install protection systems in the windows and balconies.
Sharjah witnessed three deaths of children of different ages, who fell from the balconies and windows of buildings within one month, including a one-month-old girl who fell from the balcony of her apartment, the death of an Arab boy who fell from the balcony of his relatives ’apartment on the tenth floor in Al-Qasimia, and the death of an Asian girl, who fell from A balcony on the tenth floor in Al-Nabba district
While the Sharjah Safety and Protection Authority stated that it carries out inspection tours on all buildings, to ensure that it adheres to the safety and security standards and requirements, and there are a number of legislations distributed to government departments to meet safety and security standards before taking the building permit.
For its part, the General Command of Sharjah Police stated that it has carried out awareness campaigns regarding fall incidents, stressing the necessity of not leaving children near windows, following safety and security measures, and imposing preventive requirements in buildings to reduce these accidents.
In detail, one of the residents, Youssef Mansour, said that there are many incidents that occurred recently, related to the fall from high, which resulted in deaths, including children, due to neglect of families, or the presence of psychological cases and mental disorders among the deceased, indicating that incidents of child fall require solutions Radical, and develop proactive standards to prevent such incidents.
He demanded that it is mandatory to install iron grids on the balconies on the upper floors, as the Sharjah buildings enjoy their height, in addition to the need to organize intensive awareness campaigns to educate teenage children through dialogue with them, because some accidents are produced with the aim of committing suicide.
And a housewife, Nour Mohamed, saw that many mothers do not show interest in their children, and they are busy with their phones and other things, without observing the children, whether they are at the balcony or windows, indicating the need to educate the mothers about the importance of attention to children, as accidents happen in a second.
She suggested installing the so-called "railings" on the balconies, and launching a campaign to change the openings of some of the windows of the old systems apartments, which are still opening completely, and changing them with the new ones that open partially. Citizen Mohammed Al-Awadi reported that the issue of falling from balconies has become frequent in Sharjah, and needs to develop radical solutions, and the official authorities must obligate the owners to new requirements, and develop appropriate protection systems for the upper floors.
He continued: The concerned authorities should not give licenses to owners and owners of projects except after installing a protection net for balconies and windows, and obliging the old buildings to do so and linking the renewal of the license to this decision to preserve lives and reduce the incidence of falls from buildings, continuing that the victims often fall from old buildings, which means that These buildings need new protective mechanisms to prevent child accidents.
While the Sharjah Safety and Protection Authority confirmed that it carries out inspection rounds on all buildings, to ensure that it adheres to the safety and security standards and requirements, and that safety and security requirements that protect lives are guaranteed, and that they do not fall from the top, noting that there are a number of legislations distributed by the authority to the departments Government, to meet safety and security standards before obtaining a building permit, in order to preserve lives and property, including that the height of the balcony wall is 120 centimeters, and window openings are according to the specifications laid out for each floor.
It indicated that it had conducted inspection campaigns in 22 regions in the emirate, to ensure their owners adhered to security and safety measures, to identify risks in them, and to inform owners of them to treat them, explaining that some cases of falling from windows were motivated by suicide.
She indicated that the authority is working to develop awareness among individuals of the ways of prevention and their importance, and their impact on public safety, and develops plans to anticipate accidents, and remove their causes, to ensure the safety of life and property.
In turn, the General Command of Sharjah Police confirmed that it had received many reports related to the fall from the top, during the current year, and the necessary measures were taken quickly, but the nature of accidents and the height of places, often their end of death.
She pointed out that she had implemented many awareness-raising campaigns, regarding incidents of falling from a height, especially for the children, calling on families and families to care for and monitor their children, and not to leave them suffering isolation and emptiness, or to communicate with unknown persons and parties without goodwill through social media, without supervision and guidance From the parents.
Sharjah Police stressed the need not to leave children near windows, to follow security and safety measures in this regard, and to impose preventive requirements inside homes and apartments, to reduce these accidents.
In addition, a pediatrician, Dr. Fawzi Al-Dekheila, stated that the recurrence of children's accidents requires joint efforts to reduce them, and educate and guide parents about the need to pay more attention to their children and follow them to ensure their safety, being in a stage of maturity, and going through different teenage stages, and their thinking and behaviors differ, and may occur. The accident at any moment because they were affected by a particular accident or something psychological or emotional, so parents should pay more attention to their children.
And that accidents falling from the top result in large fractures or severe injuries, due to the force of the collision with the ground, and most accidents result in death due to the height of floors.
In 2007, the Sharjah Municipality adopted a list of building conditions and specifications, which meet the safety and security conditions on balconies and windows, and in 2012 this regulation was amended, and the safety rates for new residential buildings increased.
It is noteworthy that there is a statistic presented to the Consultative Council of the Emirate of Sharjah, during the current year, that revealed 20 people fell from the windows and balcony of residential buildings at the emirate level, during the past three years, led to various deaths and injuries, and members of the Council demanded measures to reduce those accidents And obliging the owners of buildings, especially the old ones, to provide safety and security requirements that guarantee that people, especially children, will not fall, and increase the penalties for violators.
The statistics showed that the victims of falling accidents from buildings are mostly children under the age of five years, as the reasons are due to neglect and failure to take adequate precautions, leaving windows or balconies open and not clearing them of luggage, and not imposing control on the movements of children at home.
It is reported that a one-month-old girl, who died as a result of her family’s negligence, led to her fall from a building in Sharjah and died.
Last month, an Arab boy died as a result of his fall from the fourth floor of a building in Al Qasimia.
An Asian girl who fell from the balcony of their relatives' apartment on the tenth floor in Al-Nabba district also died.
A 14-year-old Arab boy, who had fallen from the balcony of his relatives' apartment on the 15th floor, in Al-Majaz area, died last March. He came to the country to spend the vacation with his grandfather two days before his death.
Preventive measures and measures
The director of the Child Safety Department in Sharjah, Hanadi Saleh Al-Yafei, said: “We have witnessed, recently, a number of incidents of children falling from the balconies and windows of houses, which requires us to stress the role and responsibility of the family in the first place in protecting their children, and take safety measures to prevent their exposure to such These incidents indicate the lack of awareness of the parents about the most important basics of safety in the home, despite the existence of many awareness and education initiatives at the state level, about how to tighten the house in a safe way that protects children from such risks.
Al-Yafie added that equipping the house with safety supplies for children does not need many costs. There are easy and simple procedures and measures and tools available in many furniture stores and major sales outlets, such as windows for windows and home doors and locks that children cannot open without the help of adults. These simple measures are sufficient to protect Children, while stressing the importance of children always remaining under the eyes of their parents or those responsible for them and not neglecting them without supervision.
Al-Yafei stressed that the department is working with its partners in the General Command of the Sharjah Police, the Sharjah Municipality, and a number of government departments concerned, to come up with preventive solutions and stronger awareness initiatives, to reduce this unfortunate phenomenon that every year children fall as a result of clear negligence and neglect by their families, so that we can From reaching 0% of child accidents in Sharjah.