Hero firefighters extinguish second tower blaze in no time

Dubai - The fire started at around 11.30 am and residents were back in their flats by 12pm

Many residents who slept through a fire in their building have thanked the Civil Defence for rescuing them and bringing a possible inferno under control so quickly.
A balcony on the 53rd floor of the Tiger tower in Dubai Marina suffered a minor fire on Sunday; however, firefighters put out the blaze within minutes. Dubbed as 'heroes' by the residents, the firefighters woke up people who slept through the fire alarm and evacuated them immediately. The fire started at around 11.30 am and residents were back in their flats by 12pm. The Tiger tower fire comes just two days after a blaze ripped through the Torch Tower; both buildings are located right next to each other.
Nidal Mala, a Syrian expat who lives on the same floor of Tiger tower on which the fire started, said: "The Civil Defence did an amazing job. We were sleeping when it broke out and they woke us up and got us out. We went down all those stairs, but it's the firefighters who are the real heroes." Muktar Kiram, a Filipino expat who lives on the 60th floor, said: "I looked down my window and saw thick black smoke coming from the floors below. I immediately left my flat. I saw that the firefighters were already on-site and bringing the situation under control. I'm glad it wasn't the kind of fire like at the Torch Tower. Everyone in this area is a bit paranoid right now because of that building, so you can imagine how much we panicked when we saw smoke in our building."
A British expat at the scene was quite shaken up after going down stairs all the stairs from his flat 61st floor flat. He was given an oxygen mask by the ambulance team while the other tenants were allowed back into the building.
"I'm just exhausted after climbing down all those stairs," the resident said.
Another expat, Mary Soloman who lives on the 26th floor, described the scene: "I was sitting in my apartment and all of a sudden there was a siren. We have heard those sirens before, so I wasn't sure if it was real. I went outside and smelled smoke. A few other people were walking outside as well, so we get in the lift, got downstairs and saw a lot of security. It looks like everything is okay."
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com