Urgent calls have gone out to overhaul fire safety measures in government housing after a 48-year-old mother and her special needs son, aged 30, were killed in a blaze that broke out in their apartment in a multi-storey building in Hejiyat early on Tuesday morning.
Sixteen people were rescued while 116 tenants evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Southern Municipal Council financial, administrative and legislative committee chairman Mohammed Daraj and Parliament financial and economic affairs committee vice-chairman Mohammed Al Marafi – both elected representatives for Hejiyat – demanded stringent fire safety measures – similar to those enforced in hotels – for all social housing buildings.
Mr Al Marafi
Currently, the Housing and Urban Planning Ministry’s housing projects are equipped with smoke detectors and sprinklers only in corridors and entrance areas.
Fire extinguishers are provided within the units, but many residents reportedly don’t know how to use them, and several extinguishers have been found to be expired or not refilled.
“This tragic incident has shaken our entire community,” said Mr Al Marafi.
“We cannot wait for more lives to be lost before we act. Fire safety in residential buildings must be treated with the same seriousness as in hotels and commercial properties.
He proposed mandatory installation of smoke detectors and automatic sprinkler systems inside every housing unit.
He also expressed concern over the current reliance on fire extinguishers, which he described as ineffective due to a lack of public training and poor maintenance.
A screenshot of the fire on Tuesday
Meanwhile, Mr Daraj renewed his longstanding call for the inclusion of external emergency staircases in social housing complexes.
He stressed that such structures could provide crucial escape routes during emergencies, especially in high-rise buildings.
“The Civil Defence has previously confirmed that there are no technical objections to external staircases. The only opposition comes from the ministry, which argues they are unsightly and impractical. But when lives are at stake, aesthetics should never override safety,” stressed Mr Daraj.
He added that Bahrain must rethink the design priorities of social housing to ensure that every unit is built with safety as the foundation, not as an afterthought.
“We owe it to the victims and their families to push for change. If a family cannot be safe in their home, then we have failed in our duty as public officials,” he said.
Mr Daraj
Both Al Marafi and Daraj confirmed that formal proposals have been submitted to Housing and Urban Planning Minister Amna Al Romaihi and will also be tabled for discussion in Parliament and Southern Municipal Council sessions in the coming weeks.
They are calling for a nationwide audit of fire safety infrastructure in social housing, prioritise high-risk areas and allocate budget for immediate upgrades.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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