Abu Dhabi: “It was an accident waiting to happen. And, it can happen again.” Zulfikar Ali, a 27-year-old security officer, who works in the Musaffah Industrial Area told Gulf News. He responded to Gulf News on its Facebook call-out.
The Abu Dhabi Civil Defence General Directorate had warned investors, workshop owners, and workers of the dangers associated with illegal housing, and stressed they would show zero tolerance to those who disregard public safety conditions.
“The buildings in the area are not high, just a few storeys but the safety measures are not there … it is very unsafe. No fire escapes, no proper systems in place,” Ali said.
He added that this holds true for both old and new buildings in the area. “Even the new buildings are just built to get by … more for rental purposes rather than proper construction. This building that caught fire had two levels, with the bottom level having shops, with staff accommodation above that. So the people who died are workers.” Ali has worked in the area for 7 months. He arrived in the UAE, from Pakistan, about 2 years ago.
A similar sentiment was echoed by Masoom Taj on the newspaper’s social media channel. He works in fire safety at an organization based in Abu Dhabi. The 32-year-old reader said that he has lived in the area for the past 2 years.
“I know the building that was impacted by the fire. The area is a big risk because you have people living in highly cramped conditions,” Taj said, when contacted.
“There are ground level shops, with accommodations for its workers above that. Now, because of high rents, many contract workers will pay to share that accommodation, too. So, you have seven to 10 people in each room. And there are no fire extinguishers or proper emergency exits in place. And many of the shops work with highly inflammable materials like diesel and petrol. So the risk, as I said, is very high.” He clarified that his company provides him with excellent accommodation but he had chosen to live in the area with his cousins, to be closer to family.
Taj feels that it is imperative action is taken because “this is not the first fire in the area”. He added: “There was a fire close by just two months ago. And this, I think, is the fifth or sixth fire in the area!”
