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One dead, three hurt in Sharjah building fire

SHARJAH — A 65-year-old Palestinian man died and three of his family members sustained burn injuries when a fire broke out in their 8th floor flat in Al Tahira Building in Sharjah in the early hours yesterday, a Sharjah Police official said.

The building is located opposite the Etisalat building in Al Nahda area of the emirate. According to the police, the fire started at around 2.10am. A team of Anjad patrol from Al Buhairah police station rushed the 65-year-old Palestinian, his wife and two children to Al Qasimi Hospital, but the man died on way to the hospital.

Police and Civil Defence teams evacuated the building and managed to extinguish the fire in nearly two hours. They also prevented the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. “The entire area was cordoned off and building residents were asked to stay outside their apartments for some time,” the police official said. The official added that most of the items in the flat were gutted.

A source from Al Qasimi Hospital said the three injured had been admitted to the ICU where their condition is stable. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and investigations are on, the police said.

Fear grips Al Tahira residents

The residents were asleep when the blaze erupted in the 8^th floor flat around 2am yesterday morning. Soon, officials evacuated all the residents of the building in a bid to avoid a massive mishap.

According to the residents, yesterday’s blaze was the second in the same building in a span of five months. In the previous incident of fire, a Filipino girl had a close shave.

Talking about yesterday’s incident, Mohan Das, a resident of the building said: “I was sleeping when the security staff of the building knocked on my door informing that a fire had erupted in the building. I immediately took my children and rushed out. Hundreds of residents were already standing outside. We were not allowed to use the lift.”

Das added: “I did not hear any fire alarm when the fire erupted.”

Another resident of the building said: “I heard the screams of help from the affected family. I think they realised the fire very late.”

He added: “I saw a young man in blaze rushing out in a desperate attempt to save himself. He managed to douse the fire after getting out from the building.”

Hundreds of residents gathered outside the building waited for the fire to be put out. “We kept waiting until receiving order from the officials to return to our apartments. This fire incident is alarming for all of us as it keeps recurring,” said a resident.

“I do not know the affected family personally. But I used to see them quite often. It’s a tragedy and I feel all of us are vulnerable,” the resident added.

The building comprises 11 storeys and each floor has 15 apartments. None of the relatives of the affected family was available immediately for comment.

When contacted, Col. Garib Shabban, director-general of the Sharjah Civil Defence, said the Civil Defence, in coordination with Sharjah Municipality and Economic Department, was working hard to ensure that all buildings follow the safety regulations by installing alarm systems, fire extinguishers and water hoses.

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