A massive fire broke out in a high-rise residential complex in United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Ajman city in the early hours of Tuesday. Ajman Civil Defence and police teams were able to bring the blaze under control, said officials. Ajman Police said there were no injuries in the fire and that affected residents have been moved to hotels in Ajman and Sharjah. The cause of fire hasn't been ascertained yet. Brigadier Abdullah Saif Al Matrooshi, Director-General of Police Operations at Ajman Police, while talking to the Khaleej Times said that a mobile police station was brought to the scene of the blaze, which helped secure the site and assist residents. The team provided certificates and other measures for residents to report the loss of items. The mobile station also helped to secure the site.
He further said that seven buses were provided by the Transport Authority, and in cooperation with the Red Crescent, the residents of the damaged tower were transferred to live in hotels in the emirates of Ajman and Sharjah
Videos of the incident have been surfacing on social media.
Footage showed flames spreading through a 36-storey tower in the Ajman One complex. The fire broke out in Tower Two of the twelve tower complex at around 1.30 am.
Tuesday’s fire is not the first at Ajman One towers. Fire had engulfed two buildings in the same complex back in 2016, as per BBC.
This incident comes just days after UAE Ministry of Interior figures showed a significant increase in the number of building fires, The National News reported. As per the official figures, more than 3,000 incidents were reported in 2022, 2,090 in 2021 and 1,968 in 2020.
As per the Ministry figures, majority of fires took place in residential areas. Homes and apartments accounted for 1,385 incidents, 256 fires in commercial buildings, 153 on farms, 122 at public service facilities. The ministry's figures did not show the number or deaths or injuries caused during the incident.