The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing affirmed the importance of complying with the safety requirements set out in the Updated Guide to the Health and Technical Requirements for Group Housing for Individuals, stressing the responsibility of establishment owners to provide a safe residential environment and to raise the level of readiness to deal with emergencies.
The Ministry explained that the safety framework begins with maintaining the readiness of evacuation routes and emergency exits and keeping them free of obstructions; providing illuminated directional signage and backup lighting systems that operate automatically in the event of a power outage; and fitting emergency doors with mechanisms that allow them to be opened easily from the inside, ensuring that locking systems do not impede their use during evacuation.
It stressed the need to verify the readiness of alarm and firefighting systems and to carry out periodic maintenance on them, to prevent unregulated storage inside housing facilities or in corridors and exits, and to observe the approved occupancy capacity of each establishment, thereby limiting risks and raising the level of prevention.
The Ministry called on establishments and employers to prepare approved evacuation plans in accordance with statutory requirements, to display evacuation diagrams in prominent and easily visible locations, to clearly mark emergency exits and assembly points, and to ensure that all housing occupants are aware of the procedures to be followed when an emergency occurs.
It affirmed that the readiness of personnel is a fundamental pillar of the safety framework, which requires training housing occupants periodically on evacuation procedures, conducting drills that simulate emergencies, and familiarizing them with the safe use of first-response firefighting equipment, in order to strengthen the speed of response and sound decision-making.
The Ministry concluded by affirming that adherence to safety requirements is not limited to meeting statutory requirements; it also represents a direct responsibility to prevent incidents and preserve the safety of residents. It noted that readiness and a proper response during the first minutes of any emergency contribute to reducing losses and to providing a safe and sustainable group housing environment.
