A trip down memory lane

Barry R. Bell details the history of, and explains the current state of, fire engineering in the United Arab Emirates.

“Modern day fire engineering has become one of the newest and most important engineering disciplines amidst this unrivalled construction boom”
-Barry R. Bell

It seems like just yesterday, but its a little more than 10 years since I first came to the United Arab Emirates. Arrival at Dubai International Airport then wasn’t anything at all like it is today: the Emirates was a relatively quiet place, with very tolerable traffic, and the kind of pace and lifestyle that always made me want to hurry back as I toggled between Europe and the Middle East on a three weeks in and three weeks out, turn around routine.

It was a few small projects that brought me here, consulting on Fire & Life safety strategies to Dubai Government Agencies on some very unique projects. As usually happens, contacts were established, one thing lead to another and suddenly there was an opening for some additional work in the Oil & Gas sector, mostly auditing of existing on and off shore facilities. It was a very pleasant experience and I was eager to establish continuity.

Even back then, the Emirates was a fascinating place to be, with colourful spice and gold markets, and bustling night-time souks, not to mention the delicious local cuisine: all still very new to a Western Traveller.

I was able to convince the German Headquarters, located in the World Expo City of Hanover in the northern state of Lower Saxony, that there was every reason to expect rapid growth in this country, if not the whole GCC region, within the next few years. And so, in the year 2000, Wagner Fire Safety Management Consultants established itself at the World Trade Center, renting a small serviced office in the Sheikh Rashid Tower, the very first high rise building to be built in Dubai.

The view from my seventh floor office really let me feel that I was sitting in the middle of the Arabian desert. The Sheikh Zayed road leading out of Dubai in the direction of the capital, Abu Dhabi, was quiet and void of modern road infrastructure.

But as we know, the change did come, and much more rapidly than anyone could have anticipated. While the construction industry and city infrastructure development took off slowly, the rate of pace increased almost daily. Everything else had to develop to meet the demands of the massive influx of people and expertise needed to make the last 10 years possible.

High-rise buildings now cover the city and the infamous Sheikh Zayed Road. Shopping malls stretch as much as 1km in length, hundreds of restaurants across the city entice the residents away from their dining tables at home, while the flavour of smaller supermarkets and traditional Schawarma style food stands provide the contrast that makes the Emirates a desirable destination.

Modern day fire engineering has become one of the newest and most important engineering disciplines amidst this unrivalled construction boom.

Wagner Fire Safety Management Consultants have contributed to the establishment and success of fire engineering in the Emirates over the last decade and will continue to do so, together with the local authorities, and many other well branded fire engineering specialists that have established themselves in this region.

Today, though we are feeling the pinch of the world wide credit crisis. Many projects here are, for the time being, left poking out of the ground, baring their unfinished concrete columns and steel reinforcements to the few visitors that still venture into the region. Things will get back on track; it’s just a matter of time. For the time being the pace resembles that which I encountered in the beginning; its just the skyline that looks different.

Barry R. Bell is an engineer with degrees in electronics and fire science and has been with the German-based Fire Engineering Corporation, Wagner GmbH for 30 years. During this tenure, he has headed both National and International operations as a fire engineering consultant, establishing business entities for the corporation in many countries. With affiliation to many leading fire-engineering institutions, he has spent the last 10 years developing the fire engineering discipline in the United Arab Emirates.