Overcrowding caused fire: building owner

SHARJAH — The owner of the Al Buheirah building, where a fire broke out on Friday morning gutting several flats and rendering 15 families homeless, yesterday said he had incurred a loss of more than Dh300,000.

Afkar Ali Ahmed

Published: Sun 4 Feb 2007, 8:56 AM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 2:25 AM

Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al Zarouni told Khaleej Times that after the mishap he found out that some of the flats in the building were being sublet by his tenants.

“I had no clue that six families were living in the flat. It all started in the kitchen of this flat. I only know Mohammed Faisal who is the actual tenant of the apartment. The six families were living in four rooms and a huge living room sharing a kitchen and three bathrooms.”

Al Zarouni blamed the overcrowded flat for the fire accident. He said he filed a complaint with the Sharjah Municipality regarding the illegal subleasing of one of his properties about 14 months ago.

A police source told Khaleej Times that an investigation was on and Mohammed Faisal, a 54-year-old Pakistani, had been detained at the Al Buhaira police station as he had subleased his flat to six families without informing the landlord.

“The residents of the flats that were gutted are currently staying with their friends and relatives. The rest of the 22 flats in the seven-storey building which were unaffected by the fire have been inspected by the municipality and declared safe.”

The fire was reportedly caused by a short circuit.

People who lived in the flats that were destroyed said they had lost all their belongings. “I don’t know where to go with my family. I can’t afford a flat in any other building,” said a resident.

Mohan, another resident, who has moved temporarily to a relative’s house, said, “I wonder how we will cope with the loss.”

Leila, whose flat remained unaffected, expressed concern about the safety of the building. “The fire might have damaged the 20-year-old building,” she said.

The fire broke out around 4.30am at the building, home to over 1,000 people. Two persons, according to witnesses, tried to jump from the third floor of the building. They were rushed to a hospital after sustaining minor injuries.