Dubai: The fire that broke out in a dhow in Dubai Creek at the end of Ramadan and spread to another was caused by a kitchen mishap, Dubai Police said.
Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad, Head of the Forensics and Mechanical Engineering Department at the General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology of Dubai Police, said that the incident, which took place on July 13, started in one of the kitchens in the dhow.
“They were cooking and something caught fire. They tried to put it out but failed and it spread to the rest of the dhow,” he said.
He said the fire spread rapidly because the dhow is made of wood, and it was carrying a large amount of cargo.
“The firefighters had to resort to making holes in the dhows and sink it to put out the fire,” Ahmad explained. He said that sunken dhows are then floated up. “They close the holes that are made and then start draining the water out and the boat floats back up.”
In 2015, there were five incidents involving boats, dhows or yachts inspected by the department.
“One of the incidents was a yacht that caught fire when refuelling in the creek. Another was a dhow that caught fire when it was undergoing maintenance work at Al Jaddaf,” he said.
Usually, he said, fires that break out during maintenance work are small, because the teams are trained and are able to put out the fire.
In the event of a fire, Ahmad said that many people do not know how to react. In some instances, he said, people freeze in panic.
“All fires start small and if one knows how to handle the situation until the civil defence arrives or even put out the fire, we won’t have any serious incidents, but many people lack the awareness,” Ahmad said.
