Dubai: Investigators on Wednesday blamed electrical short circuit and ruled out foul play in the huge fire at The Address Downtown Dubai hotel on New Year’s Eve.
Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, said the report by General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology of Dubai Police shows the fire was caused by a short circuit and there was no suspicion of criminal activity.
“The results of the investigation came after inspecting the area where the fire started, collecting and testing evidence as well as listening to witnesses’ testimonies,” he said.
Fire expert Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad, Head of the Forensics and Mechanical Engineering Department at the General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology of Dubai Police, said the fire started from the wires of a spotlight on the ledge between the 14th and 15th floor of the 63-storey hotel at around 9.25pm on the New Year’s eve.
“The wires that caught fire were between flats 1401 and 1504. The wires overheated from the short circuit, starting the fire, which then spread to the rest of the hotel,” he said.
The first four floors of the building have parking, offices, health club and restaurants, while the rest of the tower has apartments, he said.
“The building also has projecting ledges, some located at the entrances of the hotel, between the 14th and 15th floors and others on the top floors… these ledges have spotlights that are connected to cables through openings in the building. The walls also have wires connected to some balconies and other lights.”
Ahmad showed photos of the two apartments after the fire, which revealed that the fire affected only the area close to the facade, indicating that the fire started outside the room.
First call
“The first person to call the Address’s reception about the fire was a man staying on the 18th floor, who said he could smell something burning, but could not see anything. By the time this person went down and the security started looking for the source, the fire spread to the other floors,” he said.
At the time of the call, the alarms had not gone off, as smoke had not reached the fire systems in the building yet. Once the smoke got in, the alarms and sprinkler systems went off.
“Only a maid was in flat 1401 when the fire started, she was watching the TV unaware of the fire, until she noticed debris and that is when she ran out of the room and alerted the security,” he said,
The information was released at a press conference at the Dubai Police Headquarters.
Ahmad was part of a team of four fire experts, four assistant fire experts and four forensic photographers who worked on uncovering the reason behind the fire on the second day of the incident.
“We also tested the area for any petrochemical liquids that could have helped the fire spread, but there were no traces of any such chemicals. The only heat source in the area where the fire started was the wires,” he said.
The team found four spotlights, of which all had their wiring intact except for one, where the wires had completely melted. “This was the source of the fire, and as the fire grew it caught on the aluminium ledge,” he said.”
He declared the fire was an accident, as the wires are outdoors and are exposed to factors such as heat, dust and humidity -- adding that the building’s exterior was cleaned on December 29 and 30, in preparation for the celebrations.
“The timing of the incident ... coinciding with the New Year’s celebration led to people’s suspicions,” Ahmad explained.
Priority
Maj Gen Al Mazeina said the greatest priority was to get everyone out safely, “We had a few cases of asphyxiation, but all injuries were minor,” he said.
He thanked Lt Gen Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, for closely following the case.
“Who’s responsibility the fire is will be determined by Emaar, we are just responsible for producing the forensic report," he said.
He said that most of the people who were staying in the Address that day had received their belongings.
Maj Gen Al Mazeina also thanked all the teams that were part of the operation, including the General Commander of Civil Defence, Major General Jassem Mohammad Al Marzouqi, Maj Gen Rashid Al Matroushi, Director of Dubai Civil Defence and the Civil Defence teams from Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah and Ajman, who assisted in the fire fighting efforts.
The fire had ravaged 40 floors of the 63-storey building.
