NINEVEH, Iraq - Mosul’s civil defense authorities are inspecting banquet halls to determine whether they are in compliance with safety regulations. This follows a devastating wedding fire in Hamdaniya last month, which killed over 100 people.
My City hall was recently warned to follow safety rules. Following the warning, the owner was deemed by authorities to have complied with all rules.
“We have added two hoses to the hall’s fire suppression system and we have installed fire extinguisher bottles to all electricity boards. The ceiling of the hall is made of concrete rather than sandwich panels,” Mohammed Ali, the owner of the hall, told Rudaw’s Naif Ramazan.
Following the Hamdaniya deadly fire, some 150 halls have been shut down in the district due to the failure to meet safety rules. Those affiliated with the municipality have been demolished.
The Nineveh defense directorate has introduced new safety rules for wedding halls. If they fail to comply with all rules in three months’ time, the halls will face repercussions.
“After this deadline ends, we will take legal procedures against the halls if their owners continue failing to follow the rules as per the civil defense law. We have recorded 150-160 projects that have violated [safety rules],” Khalid Sarwat, head of Nineveh civil defense directorate, told Rudaw.