UAE | General

Woman jumps out as flat in a Sharjah building catches fire

A brother and sister died while their mother and grandmother are being treated for burns and injuries at the Al Kuwaiti Hospital as a result of a fire that broke out at their residence in Sharjah on Tuesday morning.

  • By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 13:23 October 28, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • The fire erupted due to a faulty air-conditioner in the flat, said tenants.
  • Image Credit: Atiq-Ur-Rehman/Gulf News
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Sharjah: A brother and sister died while their mother and grandmother are being treated for burns and injuries at the Al Kuwaiti Hospital as a result of a fire that broke out at their residence in Sharjah on Tuesday morning.

Click here to watch reader's footage of fire

The incident occurred on the fourth floor of the Abdullah Khouri building located on the Jamal Abdul Nasser Street around 7:30am.

Police said the fire was caused by an electrical short-circuit in the bedroom where the siblings were sleeping. The family is from Nepal.

Civil Defence evacuated the tenants and cut off the electricity to avoid further damages.

Sharjah Police said that Ramesh, 26, and sister Kinoor, 2, were burnt to death. Their mother jumped from the fourth floor and suffered major injuries while the grandmother was asphyxiated.

How safe is your building? Have you ever participated in a safety drill? What other precautionary measures could be undertaken in case of an emergency?


Your comments


Me and my brother were sleeping and heard police sirens we rushed to the balcony to see what was wrong and saw that there was a big fire next to our building. It was really sad to see that 2 people we evacuated were dead, I had tears in my eyes after seeing these buildings are not maintained and they just increase the rents.
Salman
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 14:07

How can a single man check the saftyness of his building. The authorities have to check. I never participated in any safety drill.
Syed
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 12:41

The new buildings I believe have good safety measures, but the old buildings are not safe, precautions are not taken and they lack basic maintenance.
joumana
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 12:19

Governments should ask all the building owners to install alarm systems in each and every flat. Not in Dubai or Sharjah but in Ajman also. I think this will help in preventing the death occurring due to fire.
Maliha
Ajman,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 12:09

It is very important for any building in UAE to have a fire detector installed in it. Such tragedies can be prevented if appropriate measures are taken to secure buildings in UAE
Amna
Ajman,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 11:24

The Municipality should make it a point to check the buildings at least once a year and make sure that such short circuits would be avoided.Every building should be stamped with the date of checking.
eera
dubai,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 09:38

Many buildings in Abu Dhabi have fire extinguishers as old as even 5 years from last inspection. No tenent responded to fire alarms in my building except myself and one single lady. Either they are ignorant of the significance of the alarm or they just do not want to be botherered. But the same people will start complaining when the actual fire happens.
R.N
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 08:28

Modern buildings are designed with the strict codes for Life Safety. But the awareness of the tenants about that seems to be very poor. This incident is the best example for that. How many of us know that the staircases are the only safe way out during fire? My suggestion is to keep a display in each building, of the life safety measures taken for the building, such that all the tenants will be awarded of what to do during the fire.
Mohras
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 07:57

This incident is extremely sad, Sharjah is getting so crowded due to high rents that people don't worry about risks like this. God Help Sharjah!
M. Sheikh
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 07:51

Landlord of the buildings they should fix smoke detectors and fire alarms in the buildings
Sharjil
dubai,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 07:42

In Almost all the Appartment buildings Fire Alarm Systems are installed, you can see them... but none of them are operational.. The case of the emergency lighting system is also not different. I would suggest the CDA to carry out periodical inspection of the systems in all buildings for the system condition.
Hari
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 07:23

I am staying in a flat in sharjah for 2 years and till today, I never participated in a safety drill. Moreover there is no maintenance done by the Landlord. If we say any complaint to the watchman, then they say you have the option of leaving.
Santhosh
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 29, 2008, 06:56

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