Massive Dubai warehouse blaze doused in record time

Dubai - Civil defence had arrived in just two minutes.

The quick-acting Dubai Civil Defence firefighters put out a massive blaze that broke out in two warehouses stocking building materials and dyes in Al Quoz Industrial Area in record time.

Rapid intervention by the teams helped prevent the raging blaze from spreading to other units. The firefighters reached the site within two minutes and did a superb job, said Brigadier Rashid Khalifa Al Buffala, assistant director general of the Dubai Civil Defence for rescue and search affairs, who supervised the entire operation.

There were no casualties reported and the material damage was also contained.

The operations room of Dubai Civil Defence received information that a fire had erupted in a warehouse at 11.17pm on Tuesday. Fire brigades from Al Qouz Civil Defence station reached the site at 11.19pm. Since the blaze was huge, additional support was sought from Al Shuhada, the Emirates Martyrs, Al Barsha and Port Saeed Civil Defence stations to ensure that the fire didn't flare to adjacent warehouses in the complex.

The fire was brought under control within an hour and 40 minutes, pointed out Brigadier Rashid. He added that the complex where the fire erupted had 12 warehouses and the blaze could have wreaked enormous property loss if it had not been contained in time by the efficient firefighters. He said members of the fire brigades who battled the blaze were well-trained and experienced to deal with such situations.

Brigadier Rashid called on warehouse owners to abide by safety standards, ensure the maintenance of fire extinguishing equipment, install early warning systems and follow necessary instructions to avoid accidents.

• Dubai