ENOC to host fire safety meet in Fujairah

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamed Bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, the conference will be held at Al Diar Siji Hotel from April 9 to 10 with the joint support of Vopak-Horizon Fujairah Limited and the Fire Safety Engineering College in the Sultanate of Oman.

Regional and international industry experts will attend the conference to share their experiences in emergency response planning and formulating collective approaches to safety.

Commenting on the conference, Saeed Abdullah Khoory, Group Chief Executive of ENOC, said:

"ENOC has always incorporated the most advanced practices in safety and environmental protection into every aspect of its operations. We believe this joint Fire Safety Conference, while promoting the setting up of a Mutual Aid organisation for Fujairah, will help deliver the message that safety is a collective responsibility that extends beyond the workforce or precincts of an industrial establishment".

The conference also aims to propose the establishment of a broadly represented Mutual Aid organisation to serve the industry in Fujairah.

Mutual Aid is an approach based on various industrial units and safety equipment agencies combining capabilities to respond more effectively to emergencies.

To help delegates and participating organisations come up with clear, insightful recommendations in this regard, speakers at the conference will present international case studies, lessons learnt from joint exercises and Mutual Aid practices from around the world.

Waddah Ghanem, ENOC Group EHS Compliance Manager said that the conference will be extremely beneficial for all stakeholders in the oil and gas sector, as well as heavy industries, where Mutual Aid as well as Emergency Response Planning is critical, given the enormity and sensitivity of the operations and assets involved.

"There are times when the worst case scenario becomes a reality," said Ghanem. "In such instances, proper risk assessment and facilities need to be backed by well-trained emergency response teams. Only then can loss of assets and lives be prevented or minimised. Mutual Aid is also critical because tier two and tier three incidents require more than local or facility-based resources. The Fire Safety Conference will concentrate on the importance of planning and developing emergency responses, and put together a readily-available joint action team".

The line-up of speakers at the conference includes General Staff Mohammed Saeed of Egyptian Civil Defence Authority; Major Ali Al Rashdi, Chief Operations Officer of Fujairah Civil Defence; S. Ramasami, Managing Director, Athena HESS Singapore; Ahmed Khalil Ebrahim, Manager Fire, Health & Safety Bapco, Bahrain; I.M. Raj, SEMBCORP, Singapore; and Ben Janssen, Director of Rotterdam Industrial Area Mutual Aid, Holland; in addition to senior officials in charge of safety at ENOC and VHFL.