The Royal Oman Police (ROP) has said owners of all residential and commercial buildings in the country must install fire and safety systems approved by the ROP’s civil defence unit.
“As a law, all residential and commercial buildings must have fire safety systems,” said an official from ROP’s Fire Safety Department. “It is mandatory for landlords of both, old and new buildings to install fire safety systems,” he added.
According to statistics, 361 instances of violation of fire safety standards were registered in Oman in the first quarter of 2012.
The Muscat Municipality said that the implementation of fire safety measures in a building should be a joint effort between the landlord and the tenant, and although the civic body is not directly involved in the inspection of fire safety systems in the city’s buildings, it issues necessary licences only after clearance by the ROP’s civil defence unit.