03 Feb 2007

Sharjah: Tenants watched in disbelief as a fire tore through four floors of their residential tower yesterday, and said firefighters were slow in putting out the blaze.

The fire broke out at around 4.30am yesterday in a seven-storey tower in Al Majaz 2, forcing more than 250 residents to flee the thick smoke that filled their rooms.

The fire started in the kitchen of a flat on the fourth floor. Two of the people who tried to escape the blaze by climbing to their neighbour's balcony were injured when the gas cylinder exploded showering them with glass and other debris.

The 20-year-old building was equipped with neither a smoke alarm, fire extinguisher nor fire escape. People panicked and pushed each other as they hurried down the staircase.

"I am upset because the firemen came so late," said Maliha, an Ethiopian who lives on the fifth floor. "I heard someone banging on my door, and lots of shouting going on," she said. "Smoke was everywhere in my apartment and I was scared for my life," she said.

Panicky

A spokesman for the Civil Defence said there was a fire station nearby at Al Khan and it would have taken the firemen four minutes to reach the site. He attributed the delay to people panicking and calling the police number instead. The fire emergency number is 997 and the police number is 999. He suggested that it may be because of the police delay in informing the civil defence that it took so long.

A resident of a building nearby said firefighters also had a hard time reaching the tower because cars were double parked.

Eyewitnesses said the fire-brigade arrived 40 minutes after the fire started.

"They stood on the pavement for almost 30 minutes. When they tried to put out the fire, they couldn't because the water hose was too short," said Fahad Riaz, a neighbour from an opposite building whose apartment was also affected. His windows shattered as a result of the explosion. "I heard a loud bang and then my windows shattered. I was terrified."

"If they had acted sooner, the fire would not have spread upstairs," said Lolito Acbo, from the fifth floor.

Thirteen bachelors were sharing the flat where the fire broke out. "I woke up with smoke everywhere, and one of my flat mates shouted that it was coming from the kitchen," said Kashi Akhtar, who believes the fire was caused by a leak in the gas cylinder.

Many bachelors stay in the building sharing the three-bedroom apartments.

By Mariam M Al Serkal

Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.