A call for tough inspections has been made following the massive blaze in the Old Manama Suq on Wednesday in which three people died and 10 to 15 businesses were completely destroyed.
The move is spearheaded by the Strategic Thinking Bloc, which wants all government ministries and entities concerned to immediately check all the buildings especially in areas with a high concentration of people such as Manama, Muharraq, Isa Town, Hamad Town and Riffa.
“All the buildings need to be inspected to ensure they are strong and don’t have unsafe electricity cables or faulty wirings,” said bloc president Ahmed Al Salloom.
“The issue is not restricted to Manama, but includes areas with large numbers of people, either living or visiting,” he added.
“The past few fires this year were not limited to shops; a house burnt down in Sitra in which two elderly people were killed in March, a family of four died last month in a social housing apartment building in Hamad Town and now the shops in Manama Suq.
“The common factor has been electricity.”
The spate of fires has sounded an alarm which cannot be ignored, said Mr Al Salloom, who is also the Bahrain Small and Medium Enterprises Development Society chairman and Bahrain Chamber board member.
“Manama is a ticking bomb and any fire can result in a far more disastrous outcome,” he said.
“So why the wait for redevelopment?
“The government was originally planning to develop the market next year as the place vies for a World Heritage Site status, but it seems that fate has now forced it to start work immediately.
“The mistakes of the past shouldn’t be repeated as the suq or other historic markets continue for future generations to come.”
He said that inspection teams didn’t just need to focus on illegal workers or invalid CRs but also on safety conditions.
“The Electricity and Water Authority and Civil Defence teams have to accompany tourism, municipal, labour, commerce, industry and health inspectors in every raid,” said Mr Al Salloom.
“It shouldn’t be just old buildings that need to be visited, but everything and anything that may cause harm due to improper, excessive or illegal use.”
In past incidents, 42 shops were damaged when a fire erupted in the Old Muharraq Market in 2014, 10 shops suffered major damage in a massive blaze that erupted inside the Manama Suq in 2017, while three shops were gutted when a fire broke out in three stores in Suq Waqif in Hamad Town in 2020.
Wednesday’s blaze started in a multi-storey building in Block 304, along Road 432 on Shaikh Abdulla Avenue near a number of textile shops just before 4pm.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear but eyewitnesses at the scene said it was likely a short circuit in one of the older buildings.
According to area MP Ahmed Qaratta, who represents the second constituency of the Capital Governorate, 10 to 15 businesses were completely destroyed and more than 50 were affected by the fire.
He added that nine people had to be rescued and treated for smoke inhalation.
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