UAE | Emergencies

Sharjah tower fire leaves families out in the cold

Some tenants say they received no aid and were forced to sleep in their cars or at residences of relatives and friends

  • By Derek Baldwin, Chief Reporter and Mariam M Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:00 January 27, 2012
  • Gulf News

A fire damages a residential bulding in Sharjah
  • Image Credit: Javed Nawab/Gulf News
  • A fire damages a residential bulding near Sharjah's Al Tawun Mall on Wednesday.

Sharjah: Authorities are sifting through the charred rubble for the cause of a 25-storey fire early Wednesday that drove 125 families from their homes into the cold.

Eyewitnesses said the fire started on the first floor of the building and amid high winds spread across the rear face of the building as people slept but there were no fatalities.

Tempers, meanwhile, flared yesterday at the scene where some tenants said they received no aid and were forced to sleep in their cars or with relatives and friends.

Sharjah Charity, UAE Red Crescent and Sharjah Club were on the scene hours after the incident to log names and offer all help possible.

"They [charity workers] told me they didn't provide anything," said tenant Nader Osman. "That's why I was surprised to read that people were put up in hotels or got money as help."

Even those who received help said yesterday at the scene that three nights of accommodation will get them through the immediate crisis but some are still facing a bleak future given that they lost life savings, clothes and furniture.

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No'man Damoodi, a resident of Flat 404, queried: "To what benefit is the accommodation if we have lost everything? I've lost my gold savings, university degree, laptop and passports."

Damoodi said he went to Al Baker Real Estate offices and demanded satisfactory action. According to him, the company offered to relocate his permanent address to a new building in Al Nahda nearby. Other tenants told Gulf News they were also offered to be moved to Al Nahda.

Without sanctuary, residents camped out at the entrance of the building yesterday. Residents were angry that their landlord has not helped clarify issues surrounding insurance and personal property coverage.

Comments (4)

  1. Added 12:55 January 27, 2012

    It was very unfortunate to hear of it. I live in the vicinity and am viewing the scene firsthand. There are poeple on mats sitting and eating on the ground. The alarm bells in my building ring almost everyday to the extent that we have started to ignore them. My greatest fear is that in case of a real emergency, all the tenants will pay no heed to the alarms. I have told the security numerous times about it, but no action was taken obviously.

    A K, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  2. Added 12:09 January 27, 2012

    This can happen to anybody any time. Authorities should take actions to prevent these incidents and if this happens some help for the residents - like Insurance, temporary shelter etc. This time even though media projects X did Y, U did V etc., still people are suffering and there is a question, whats next after these grace offers. There are people who lost even 100% of their house hold items.

    Praveen, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  3. Added 10:52 January 27, 2012

    It is very unfortunate that the companies that manage the buildings or the owners take no responsibility for any incident and incidents like this have been very common in SHJ. It has also been noted through past incidents in town that these kind of incidences happen because they flaunt the safety rules and also accommodate more people in flats than specified, all these factors compromise the safety of the people. Hope there are stringent fines for flaunting the safety rules and strict periodic inspections by the Civil Defence and the Municipility this could reduce similar incidences in future.

    Vasanth Rajeevan, Sharjah, India

  4. Added 10:31 January 27, 2012

    In our building fire alarm system is not working and panel switched off. Last month we had power failure and generator didn't work and staircase emergency light didnt work. We went to the management office to complain but still no action is taken. We don't know of any authority to complain these sort of problem, During construction just to pass building these life safety system are installed and reality nothing is working after few months.

    Anonymous, sharjah, United Arab Emirates

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