KUWAIT: A senior Kuwait Fire Service Department (KFSD) official has called on the public to prioritize safety when buying and storing highly flammable hazardous substances , such as chemicals and pesticides. Colonel Walid Al-Ansari, the manager of Mubarak Al-Kabeer fire department's hazardous materials unit, warned that an increase in the number of people buying large amounts of such substances to sell as a sideline and improperly storing them in their homes' basements had led to the number of fires and explosions involving these materials doubling in recent years.

Col. Al-Ansari also urged state bodies to work together in order to prevent these toxic substances from being easily available to the public. On the hazardous materials unit's operations center, the senior KFSD official said, "The current Mubarak Al-Kabeer center is considered one of the most effective in the region in handling cases of leaks and explosions related to hazardous substances.

The operations center is capable of handling any major biological or chemical threat, he said, and possesses advanced gas detection and heat-seeking equipment, as well as specialist extinguishers.

Meanwhile, its computerized database contains detailed information on all hazardous substances, ranking them into nine main groups, each requiring different treatment. He added, however, that the personnel at the center still require more advanced equipment and further staff training courses.

Col. Al-Ansari told Al-Qabas that in any cases involving chemical leaks on or near public thoroughfares, the center's personnel would use specialist equipment to isolate, neutralize and, if possible, remove the toxic substances from the sewage network in operations conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Works. Kuwait times