HATS OFF TO DARING DUBAI FIREFIGHTERS
Occupants evacuated safely and quickly from all highrise building fires between 2012 and 2017 in the emirate
dubai — As residents of The Torch tower made their way back into their apartments on Monday afternoon, yet more praise poured in for the Dubai Civil Defence and Dubai Police following Friday’s fire.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Sam Alcock, director of Tenable Dubai (a fire engineering consultancy), said if you look back at the fires which occurred between 2012 and 2017 at highrise buildings in Dubai, all the occupants were evacuated safely and quickly. And that is thanks to the relentless efforts of the rescue teams here.
“We have to give 100 per cent credit to the civil defence here as well as to the fire prevention department. They proof the buildings to check if it is safe or not. We have witnessed two fires in this tower but no loss of life,” he said.
Major-General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, director of the Dubai Civil Defence, said specialised tactics helped in rescue operations.
dubai — Major-General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, director of the Dubai Civil Defence, has hailed its fire brigade and the Dubai Police, for carrying out the successful evacuation of hundreds of residents within minutes following the Torch Tower fire.
The fire was brought under control within two hours and no injuries were reported. Major-General Al Matroushi also hailed the police’s actions in clearing the traffic and crowds to aid the firefighters, and facilitating the entry and exit of rescue vehicles.
“The precautionary measures — known as the governance of safety systems in skyscrapers and buildings — have played a prominent role in containing the incident and preventing the spread of fire to neighbouring towers,” he noted.
The civil defence’s actions saved hundreds of lives, by providing the “protective curtains” that were facing the waves of fire as it flowed into the tower. He added that “the rescue and firefighting teams faced great challenges, most notably the large size of building, which is an independent residential area that has more than 600 apartments.
“This was compounded by the late timing of the fire and the presence of most of the residents in their apartments, and also the burning debris falling onto the neighbouring towers.”
Implementing what is called ‘rapid intrusion tactics’ in their line of work, the civil defence members exerted all efforts to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. The team did their job effectively despite the size and height of the building — one of Dubai’s tallest towers — the burning debris that was falling, and parked vehicles under the tower.
The official credited the successful operation to the civil defence and police teams’ regular eviction drills and trainings, rehearsing what is known as the “manual of
The rescue and firefighting teams faced great challenges — the large size of building, the late timing of the fire and the presence of most of the residents inside.” Major-General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, director, Dubai Civil Defence
emergency procedures”. They also formed a field operations room outside the fire scene and divided the firefighting work between teams that arrived from six civil defence centres.
These teams set to work immediately and in tandem with their partners from the Dubai Police, the ambulance teams and the Dubai Municipality, in a well-organised routine that effectively prevented the occurrence of any stampedes, suffocation or injuries among the residents, despite the threat posed to their own lives.
“The fire brigade carried out rapid intrusion tactics when inside the tower, helping them curb the blaze and preventing its spread to the wings of the tower and the other buildings nearby. The smart systems in the tower also reduced the spread of flames, limiting it to the façade only,” Major-General Al Matroushi said.
“The use of smart systems and the teams’ courage in the face of fire prevented a likely disaster,” he noted.