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Dubai skyscraper fire: Briton tells of rescuing disabled mother Dubai skyscraper fire: Briton tells of rescuing disabled mother
(about 3 hours later)
A British man caught in a huge fire in a Dubai skyscraper on New Year’s Eve has described how he carried his disabled mother from the 15th floor to escape.A British man caught in a huge fire in a Dubai skyscraper on New Year’s Eve has described how he carried his disabled mother from the 15th floor to escape.
Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the inferno, which engulfed 20 of the 63 floors of the five-star Address Downtown hotel in the city as people were gathering to watch a New Year’s Eve fireworks display.Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the inferno, which engulfed 20 of the 63 floors of the five-star Address Downtown hotel in the city as people were gathering to watch a New Year’s Eve fireworks display.
The Dubai government said one person had a heart attack as a result of the smoke and the rush to get out of the building. Another person was moderately injured and 16 were said to have suffered minor injuries. The blaze may have been caused by an electrical fault, according to early reports. The Dubai government said one person had a heart attack as a result of the smoke and the rush to get out of the building. Another person was moderately injured and 16 were said to have suffered minor injuries. The blaze, which continued to smoulder on Friday, may have been caused by an electrical fault, according to early reports.
Angus Viller told reporters he had to carry his mother from the 15th floor amid scenes of panic and confusion. He said he was pouring glasses of champagne in preparation to watch the fireworks from their balcony when his family noticed the blaze. Angus Viller told reporters he had to carry his mother from the 15th floor amid scenes of panic and confusion. He said he had been pouring glasses of champagne in preparation for the fireworks from the family’s balcony when his relatives noticed the blaze.
“I got to the fire escape before the actual fire alarm had started going off, by which point there were already people running in the corridors, panicking essentially, and I ended up having to put somebody on my back who was in a wheelchair,” he told Sky News. “It was basically absolute pandemonium.”“I got to the fire escape before the actual fire alarm had started going off, by which point there were already people running in the corridors, panicking essentially, and I ended up having to put somebody on my back who was in a wheelchair,” he told Sky News. “It was basically absolute pandemonium.”
Viller said he had to strap his mother, a wheelchair user, to his back as it was the only of getting her out of the building. “It was the classic thing where you would expect people to let women and children off first, but no, there was people shoving each other down the stairs and climbing over each other,” he said. Viller said he had had to strap his mother, a wheelchair user, to his back as it was the only of getting her out of the building. “It was the classic thing where you would expect people to let women and children off first, but no, there was people shoving each other down the stairs and climbing over each other,” he said.
Nearly an hour after the fire began at 9.30pm (1730 GMT), some onlookers began to leave while others stood, pressed against crowd barricades, watching the blaze.Nearly an hour after the fire began at 9.30pm (1730 GMT), some onlookers began to leave while others stood, pressed against crowd barricades, watching the blaze.
Stuart O’Donnell, a British nurse who works in Dubai, said he was worried about those inside the building as it was in a prime location to watch the fireworks display. “You feel sad for the people inside … It spread so quickly when it started,” he said. Stuart O’Donnell, a British nurse who works in Dubai, said he had been worried about those inside the building as it was in a prime location to watch the fireworks display. “You feel sad for the people inside … It spread so quickly when it started,” he said.
The Dubai government’s media office said 90% of the fire was under control. The Dubai government’s media office said on Friday that 90% of the fire had been put under control.
Randa, a resident of the area, said: “We heard a loud bang and then saw the fire. I was afraid the whole hotel would collapse on our heads.”Randa, a resident of the area, said: “We heard a loud bang and then saw the fire. I was afraid the whole hotel would collapse on our heads.”
Police said the blaze started on the 20th floor of the building, which is also residential. Footage taken by witnesses and uploaded to the internet shows huge flames rapidly climbing the hotel’s exterior from what appears to be a terrace or balcony. Police said the blaze started on the 20th floor of the building, which is also residential and where rentals of one bedroom can run to $70,000 per year. Footage taken by witnesses and uploaded to the internet showed huge flames rapidly climbing the hotel’s exterior from what appeared to be a terrace or balcony.
It took four hours for firefighters to put out the flames. A large fireworks display later went ahead at the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in front of tens of thousands of people, while plumes of smoke continued to billow from the nearby fire. It took four hours for firefighters to put out the worst of the flames. A large fireworks display later went ahead at the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in front of tens of thousands of people, while plumes of smoke continued to billow from the nearby fire.
A top Dubai security official, General Dhahi Khalfan, posted a picture on Twitter of a fire beneath a ledge of the building, saying the start of the blaze had been captured by a police criminal investigation photographer.
“This is where the search begins,” Khalfan wrote of the picture, which appeared to show a lower part of the building.
مصور جنائي لشرطة دبي يلتقط بداية الحريق بعدسة كاميرته..من هنا يبدأ البحث. pic.twitter.com/5MojgyVOoi
Outside the hotel, eyewitnesses described scenes of mass panic as hundreds of people visiting Dubai Mall, a huge shopping centre next door, fled in terror as the fire spread.
One resident, Malcolm Carter, saw the blaze catch and ran to the mall to try to find his friends. Within two minutes, he said, huge flames had spread 40 floors up. “It took hold so quickly. Initially I thought it was some sort of new year show but it kept on spreading. Security guards had no idea what was happening. Some thought it was a terror attack. Others didn’t even realise there was a fire.”
The fire caused no loss of life and few injuries, but it poses tough questions about the safety of many of Dubai’s high-rise buildings.
The emirate is renowned for its glitzy lifestyle and has constructed about 100 skyscrapers that are more than 180 metres high. More are being designed and built each year, and many have floors well out of reach of conventional firefighting equipment, relying instead on advanced sprinkler systems and other fire prevention measures.
Thursday night is not the first time such buildings have caught fire. Less than a year ago a fire at Dubai’s tallest residential building, the Torch tower, sent flames leaping up 20 floors, showering burning debris into the streets below. There were no fatalities.
In 2012, the 34-storey Tamweel tower suffered serious damage after a cigarette butt started a fire.
A preliminary investigation into the New Year’s Eve fire is likely to focus on how the fire spread so quickly and whether it was a result of the materials used to clad the building.
According to industry sources, many of Dubai’s high-rise buildings have been clad in aluminium panels with a thermoplastic core to give them a sleek and modern appearance.
Safety codes for high-rise buidlings were tightened in 2013, but many skyscrapers built previously have not incorporated the additional measures. With many people living in high-rise apartments, the authorities will want to send reassuring messages to its population that the buildings they live in are safe.
Last year, Dubai broke the world record for the largest New Year’s Eve fireworks display, releasing 479,651 shells.Last year, Dubai broke the world record for the largest New Year’s Eve fireworks display, releasing 479,651 shells.
Dubai’s glittering skyline has seen two similar fires in recent years. Many of the city’s buildings have floors well out of reach of conventional firefighting equipment and rely on advanced sprinkler systems and other fire prevention measures.