ABU DHABI // A major property company has installed more than 129,000 fall-prevention devices on windows and balcony doors in residential towers.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Properties (ADCP) said on Sunday that it had installed 129,380 safety locks in 981 residential towers across the emirate as part of its child-safety programme, which it launched in January.
The devices prevent windows from opening more than 10 centimetres, in accordance with an Abu Dhabi Department of Municipal Affairs ruling. ADCP expects to instal more than 260,000 window-safety devices by the end of the year.
It is asking residents to co-operate with engineers and allow them access to their homes to instal the devices and make homes safer for children, said Abdulla Al Suwaidi, managing director of ADCP and Abu Dhabi Commercial Engineering Services.
The initiative is part of ADCP’s efforts to curtail further incidents of young children falling from windows or balconies.
Abu Dhabi requires landlords of residential buildings to instal safety measures, such as locks, on windows that are less than 1.5 metres above the floor and capable of opening more than 10 centimetres.
Local authorities say they aim to place posters in towers warning families about the dangers of children falling.
The company had previously announced in March that it would instal devices in 40,000 homes.
Earlier that month, a nine-year-old Syrian girl had fallen to her death from an eighth-floor apartment on Hamdan Street.
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