In my experience a far more pressing issue is mold. While fires are scarier, the fatalities rates in Qatar as still statistically quite low. Mold, however, is prevalent throughout the country, causing long-term respiratory problems and, is some cases, acute illness, particularly with children. Some of the black mold strains found in Qatar are particularly bad. You can buy simple testing kits from the US or Europe (I don't know about here), but the results are pretty scary.
marycatherine--having your own smoke detectors are essential. Cheap, easy to install; I am amazed that companies don't issue these immediately to all employees. I was advised to bring my own. In many cases the sprinkler systems are even hooked up to a water source!
In my experience a far more pressing issue is mold. While fires are scarier, the fatalities rates in Qatar as still statistically quite low. Mold, however, is prevalent throughout the country, causing long-term respiratory problems and, is some cases, acute illness, particularly with children. Some of the black mold strains found in Qatar are particularly bad. You can buy simple testing kits from the US or Europe (I don't know about here), but the results are pretty scary.
marycatherine--having your own smoke detectors are essential. Cheap, easy to install; I am amazed that companies don't issue these immediately to all employees. I was advised to bring my own. In many cases the sprinkler systems are even hooked up to a water source!