Abu Dhabi: Fire swept through 16 commercial shops in the Bani Yas Area Municipality Souq on Friday at around 3pm causing considerable property damage, but no human casualties.
Witnesses said the fire erupted in a building where a number of shops sell electrical and electronic devices.
Abu Dhabi Police remained on the scene for about three-and-a-half hours, witnesses said, as firefighters fought to douse the blaze, which fed a large plume of black smoke that could be seen for kilometres.
Captain Abdullah Hamad Al Tamimi, Head of Customer Service and Public Relations Section at the Directorate General of Civil Defence, said that as soon as a report of the incident was received, eight firefighting teams took on the task of putting the flames out and placing the situation under control.
Fire trucks surrounded the building to tackle the flames from all sides.
Investigation is still ongoing to find out more about the incident and the official stressed the importance of building owners’ abiding by safety measure to ensure fire prevention.
The Fire Brigade lauded the public’s contribution in helping in the cooling-down operation and for cooperating with authorities.
Air support teams helped by providing live images of the situation, which helped decision-makers to make the right call regarding logistics and resource distribution, the police said.
