Residents flee Dubai skyscraper blaze
DUBAI: Firefighters extinguished a blaze that swept through one of the world’s tallest residential buildings in Dubai yesterday, forcing occupants to flee their homes as burning debris tumbled down the sides of the 79-storey tower.
Dubai’s civil defence authorities said firefighting squads put out the blaze and were cooling the 337-metre Torch tower.
The building was successfully evacuated and no injuries were reported, authorities said.
Flames shot up the sides of the building in the city’s upscale Marina district in the second blaze at the structure since 2015.
Firefighters and police sealed off surrounding streets, which were partially covered by dust and debris.
‘‘We were sleeping and we woke up to the fire alarm and people screaming. We ran down the stairs, and it took us about 10 minutes to reach [the street] from the 50th floor,’’ said a resident who gave his name as George.
‘‘The fire was very strong at that time. It started on the 67th floor, that’s what we were told.’’
Another resident, whose said his name was Mohammed and that he lived on the 12th floor, said the top part of the building caught fire first, and the lower levels followed as flaming debris fell.
The government said it wes working on providing shelter for the people affected by the fire.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the same building in 2015 when a massive fire swept through it. An investigation found that most of the damage was due to the exterior cladding. Police in Britain say they believe that insulation and cladding panels added during a refurbishment of London’s Grenfell Tower may have contributed to the rapid spread of a fire there in June in which 80 people died. - Reuters