21 buildings damaged in fire sparked by gas leak

Abu Dhabi: Twenty-one buildings in Mussaffah were damaged in a fire sparked by an explosion of a natural gas pipe in a building, Abu Dhabi Civil Defence said yesterday.

A spokesman said an eight-storey building caught fire yesterday early morning when a gas pipe exploded. The incident happened in a restaurant in the building. Two people, a man and a woman, were injured, and 21 buildings as well as 45 cars parked in the vicinity were also damaged.

"The operations room received an alert about the incident at 3.30am," said Colonel Shaikh Mohammad Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, director of the police directorate of the outer regions.

"The Civil Defence fire brigade, police and ambulances were immediately dispatched to the scene and were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other buildings," he added.

A imam of a mosque and a woman sustained minor injuries and were rushed to Al Mafraq Hospital after they were given first aid. He said the first two floors of the building, where the fire started and some of the shops were destroyed.

A leak in the gas pipe was the cause of the explosion.

"Buildings must be inspected every three months in cooperation with authorised gas companies and the civil service department," said Colonel Mohammad Bin Naseeb Al Nuaimi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence

Al Nuaimi advised landlords and restaurant operators to follow safety procedures including regular inspections of gas tanks and pipes. He also called for installation of fire alarm systems.

Multiple cylinders

A witness who spoke to Gulf News on condition of anonymity said the problem was caused by the unsafe practice of connecting multiple cylinders to the main gas pipe.

"One of the cylinders leaked and exploded, causing other cylinders to explode," he said. Another witness said the main explosion occurred in a cafeteria.

An Indian resident, J.P.S., who was residing in one of the damaged buildings said he and family members panicked and thought there was an earthquake.

"Soon after the explosion, somebody rang our doorbell and alerted us about the fire. We ran outside the building but did not find any fire in our building but saw windows were broken everywhere," he said.

Hanif, an Indian owner of a restaurant in a small hotel three rows behind the building that caught fire, was upset that the glass windows and fixtures in his restaurant was entirely broken.

"We called the police who came and took pictures and left. No compensation was promised," he said. "We were lucky the incident happened at night or else several people would have been injured," he said.

‘Horrific to run out'

He found a minor fire in adjacent building but it was controlled by the Civil Defence. "It was horrific to run out of the seven-storey building with a child," he explained.

"Later we came to know there was an explosion at a refreshment shop in the next building," he said. A big grocery store in the same building was totally damaged.

The police and Civil Defence personnel cordoned off that building.

"The police provided us accommodation at a hotel in the Tourist Club area and now we are living there until they give the clearance to go back home," J.P.S. said.

A police official, who asked not to be named, confirmed the explosion was due to a suspected leak in the main gas pipe in the restaurant. The police also coordinated with the Red Crescent to temporarily move the residents to a hotel until other accommodations are arranged.