105 cases of fire incidents were reported in 2018, with 65 of them being due to gas leaks, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has said.
The MNDF spoke to the press on Monday, and said that the total number of annual fire-related incidents have been decreasing consistently.
Colonel Abdulla Zuhury, commander of the fire and rescue service provided records:
- 2018 – 105 fire-related cases
- 2017 – 119 fire-related cases
- 2016 – 131 fire-related cases
- 2018 – 65 fire-related incidents from gas leaks
- 2017 – 44 fire-related incidents from gas leaks
- 2016 – 102 fire-related incidents from gas leaks
Colonel Zuhury further said that the biggest incident from a gas leak this year was the explosion at a property run by local restaurant chain Shell Beans in June, which injured three people.
Zuhury said that officers of the fire and rescue service are on duty so as to allow access to anywhere in capital city Malé within 30 seconds, and five minutes at most.
The MNDF has also begun using smaller and two-wheeled vehicles due to the traffic situation in heavily congested Malé City.
At Monday’s conference, the MNDF advised the public to take measures against possible gas leaks, such as regularly checking appliances and maintaining them.
