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Al Barsha fire: Some residents allowed to grab essentials; others await return home
'This is just a temporary relief; what we really want is to go back to our homes and sleep in our own beds again,' said one expat
- PUBLISHED: Thu 15 May 2025, 2:18 PM
After fire broke out in an Al Barsha building earlier this week, some residents have now been allowed inside to collect their belongings.
On Thursday morning, tenants up to the 5th floor were given permission to enter their apartments and pick up essential items such as documents, clothes, and medicines.
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For those living on higher floors, access is expected to be granted on Friday. When the fire broke out on Tuesday night, reportedly caused by a gas leak in a restaurant on the ground floor, hundreds of tenants were forced to evacuate.
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Aslam Malik, a Pakistani expat who lives on the 3rd floor and works at an insurance brokerage firm, said he felt a huge sense of relief when he heard the news. “My office is nearby, so I immediately spoke to my manager and requested a few hours off,” he said.
“Thankfully, he understood the situation and let me go. I rushed to the building to collect my essentials – my documents, a few clothes, and some daily-use items.”
Aslam has been staying with a friend since the Al Barsha building fire. “It’s been tough. We are grateful to have a roof over our heads, but it’s not easy having nothing with us. We still don’t know when we will be allowed to move back in. For now, we are just waiting and hoping for updates.”
Mary Bancas, a Filipino expat, said she left her apartment the night of the fire with only her sleepwear. “I didn’t even have time to pick up a bag or slippers. I just ran,” she said.
Mary has been staying at a friend’s house since then. “It hasn’t been easy. I have been borrowing clothes and just trying to manage. I felt helpless, not having access to even the most basic things like my ID, toiletries, or a change of clothes,” she said.
Now that she’s been allowed back inside to grab some of her things, Mary said she feels a bit better. “Finally, I can grab my belongings, some clothes, documents, and personal items. That will make things a little easier for now,” she said. “But this is just a temporary relief. What we really want is to go back to our homes and sleep in our own beds again.”
Karen, a Cameroonian expat living on the 2nd floor, rushed to the building as soon as she heard residents were being let in. “I didn’t want to waste any time. I came straight away,” she said.
After spending two nights without access to her apartment, Karen was able to pick up some clothes and her medication. “That was a huge relief. I have been quite anxious without my medicine,” she said.
“I feel better now that I have my essentials, but we still don’t know when we can go back to actually live there again.”
Raj Tiwari, who lives on the 10th floor, is still waiting to return. On the night of the fire, he had no choice but to sleep in his car. The next morning, he had to buy new clothes and borrow a laptop to attend a very important work meeting.
“It was exhausting, but I somehow made it through. I am really hoping they let us in tomorrow. My passport is inside, and I have an important business trip coming up. Everything’s on hold until I can get it.”
Residents said that their main concern now is clarity on when they can return home. For the tenants, the past two days have been a mix of stress, sleepless nights, and uncertainty, but getting access to their essentials has offered some relief.
SM Ayaz Zakir is a Senior Correspondent with a flair for extraordinary stories. His playground? Every corner of the UAE. He often ventures into remote corners of the country to capture compelling news and human interest stories.