Hanan Al -Khalfan
In a small area, large with values and conscience, fire and collapsing news should not become familiar scenes, nor that death news turns into cold numbers. Three painful incidents that occurred recently in Bahrain, three different sites, but they carry one warning: the danger is repeated, and prevention is absent, each of which was sufficient to awaken the conscience, had it not been for the repetition the master of the situation.
Three sites, three incidents, three consecutive calls, that the repetition of these incidents is not an inevitable judiciary or a destiny to him, but rather a disturbing pattern and a culture that has not yet been formed around safety. We do not face natural disasters, but rather shortcomings that can be prevented. Most homes lack the simplest prevention tools, and many residents do not know how to deal with fire or evacuation. The worst is that most buildings were not designed to be safe in the face of these scenarios. And relying on the reactions instead of root treatments. The result: People still die inside their homes, and lives are burned before the warning reaches.
It is necessary to quickly commend the response of the civil defense, and to open the investigations after each incident. We are also required to prevent its recurrence. And that fear of the fire turns into commitment, surviving a system, and dealing with safety as a necessity, not as an option. In Bahrain, prevention is not supposed to be luxury. The problem is not only in the source of the fire, but also in the preparation of the entire society to confront it. Are all buildings equipped with alarm and smoke detectors? Is there a clear evacuation plan in every home? Do people know how to use fire extinguisher? Most likely the answer: No. And this “no” is what kills us before the flames.
The smoke detector detectors may remain absent, mysterious evacuation plans, and the culture of dealing with the danger is limited to the extent that some people do not even know how to use a fire extinguisher. We do not face surprising natural disasters, but rather repeated human errors that are only met by statements after it is too late. After every tragedy, it is rapidly praising the response, the investigations are opened, the condolences are issued, then the pages are folded until further notice. But is it sufficient to move only when the fire ignites? What about the houses that will ignite tomorrow? What about the next victim, who may now read these lines?
The defect is not in the fire, but in the accumulated neglect. The buildings collapse because one of them ignored an examination or signed a report without accuracy, and the souls are lost because no one is obliged to install a smoke detector or the trained population to confront the fire. These are not isolated incidents, but rather a disturbing indicators of the absence of a system that is necessary to prevent and prevent disaster before it occurs. Unless we face this neglect with an integrated approach, every house will remain threatened, and every person is the next possible victim.
Frankly, what we need is not temporary slogans, but rather a clear law that holds the negligent accountable, and each building is obligated to effective warning systems, and gives the municipalities real monitoring powers that do not know courtesy when the issue relates to people’s lives. We also need a national record to evaluate the safety of buildings, a periodic examination that causes construction standards, and continuous training of the population on how to act in emergency time. The civil defense cannot alone protect everyone, because prevention is the responsibility of an entire country, starting from the decision, continuing awareness, and translating into a tangible reality within every home.
Despite the small area of Bahrain, three major incidents within weeks can rang the alarm. It is a painful message that the time has come to make the difficult decision: to consider safety a national priority that starts from education, is broadcast through the media, and instilled in every home. In a country that seeks to be an advanced center in development, it is not appropriate for homes to burn due to a shortening that can be prevented. Safety is not fulfilled by remorse, but rather. Every incident that is not invested in change is a silent alarm bell before the next tragedy.
Before the next house is burned, let us take responsibility. Not only as individuals, but as institutions, society and a state. Because the next fire will not wait.
