How Dubai was spared its own Grenfell tragedy
Sprinklers plus warnings via phone, text and email means everyone escaped fire
THE similarities are chilling: a blaze in a tower block with flames spreading up the sides as terrified residents flee for their lives.
But, while more than 80 lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower tragedy in June, everyone escaped yesterday’s fire at the Torch Tower in Dubai.
It took only ten minutes for residents, including dozens of Britons, to get out of the 86-storey block, one of the world’s tallest residential skyscrapers.
Burning debris rained down as they made their way out of the 676 flats and down two stairwells kept smoke-free by sprinklers limiting the spread of the flames.
Residents were able to flee so quickly after being phoned, emailed and sent text messages by the tower block’s managers, with some even having time to pack. Alarms were also sounding and staff were sent to knock on doors to make sure everyone knew a fire had broken out on the 63rd floor.
In contrast, neighbours in the 24- storey tower in West London said they heard no alarm and were told to stay put by firefighters.
Yesterday a resident of the Torch Tower who gave his name as George told news agency Reuters: ‘We woke up to the fire alarm and people screaming. We ran down the stairs and it took us about ten minutes from the 50th floor.
‘It was very bad. The fire was very strong at that time, about 1am.’
It is the second major fire at the 1,105ft tower. Restoration work was still going on from a devastating blaze in 2015 when flammable cladding similar to that used in Grenfell Tower was blamed for fuelling the flames.
Both times, it appears fire alarms alerted residents while staff knocked on doors to ensure a quick evacuation. Leeanne Hume, 38, and husband Donnie, 40, from Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, were left devastated after fleeing their burning home in the early hours for the second time in two years.
‘This is horrific,’ said Mrs Hume. ‘We are safe but our building is horrendous, worse than last time.’
Danny Harper, a bar manager originally from Watford who lives on the 68th floor, lost his possessions and passport when his flat was destroyed by the fire.
Cambridge University graduate Effy Chengyu Wang, a management consultant from China, had grabbed her passport and wallet as she ran for her life. ‘I am alive but I lost everything,’ she said.
Footage taken from nearby buildings shows flames climbing about 40 storeys of the skyscraper, where apartments start at £381,000. The cause of the fire was unknown and it was put out within three hours.
‘We woke up to people screaming’