DOHA: To reduce fire incidents in Ramadan and for providing civil protection to individuals, families have been asked to follow instructions and be cautious against the risks of common fire incidents at homes during Ramadan.

It is a common knowledge that the month of Ramadan is different from other months of the year as cooking increases manifold due to preparation of variety of dishes which also requires more activity in kitchens hence calls for more cautious attitude by the families, the Ministry of Interior said on its website.

The most important safety measure is to keep children out of kitchens during cooking, especially during frying, and to ensure the safety of gas pipes and inspect the stoves and ovens and ensure the cleanliness and to be sure that is far away from children.

Also, the presence of electrical wires for more than one device at one location leads to the risk of fire because of the possibility of short circuit between the wires. It is important to maintain all household safety tools such as fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, emergency exits and people also ensure the quality of electrical wiring.

The General Directorate of Civil Defence has confirmed its complete readiness to deal with any fire incident and people can contact the department at the emergency number 999 giving the full address for easy access.

Meanwhile, in order to spread awareness about safety measures, the Department is distributing Iftar meals among motorists.

“To enhance contact between the department and people, Iftar meals are being distributed by the department personnel wearing firefighting suits. Ramadan is a chance to increase safety measures specially in homes and to distribute awareness publications among them,” said Major Mohamed Abdul Kareem Al Qahtani.

A number of motorists have appreciated this initiative saying that they used to see firefighters only during fire incident but today by this activity of distributing Iftar meals they are spreading the awareness message among people.