Sharjah: Teams from the Sharjah Police forensic laboratory are trying to determine the cause of the fire on Thursday afternoon at Nasser Tower, a residential building in Sharjah’s King Faisal Street area, after a ‘cooling down’ operation was completed by the civil defence, Brigadier Abdullah Al Suwaidi, Director-General of Sharjah Civil Defence, told Gulf News.
The fire broke out in the 32-storey building, into which tenants had moved in just some months ago, at 1.37 pm on Thursday. The fire alarm system in the building had not been activated.
Two hundred and fifty families were evacuated from the building in the wake of the blaze that left some 40 flats damaged and many vehicles destroyed by falling debris that peppered an adjacent parking lot.
Brig. Al Suwaidi said that the civil defence would summon the manager of the maintenance company responsible for safety and maintenance work in the building.
“In case we find the company ignored safety measures [in the building] and exposed residents to danger, we will take strict action against the company,” he said.
Brig. Al Suwaidi thanked all those who assisted in putting out the fire including civil defence authorities in Sharjah, Dubai and Ajman as well, as Sharjah Municipality, which ensured the timely arrival of water tankers.
Brig. Al Suwaidi said that besides residents, a number of pets, including birds and cats, had also been rescued from the building.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Al Hammadi, Chairman of the Red Crescent in Sharjah, told Gulf News that the charity organisation would provide hotel accommodation for the building’s residents for 2-4 days until they could return to their homes.
Red Crescent has already provided accommodation to 180 families and is looking to help out some 70 more.
“We will provide them with all kinds of aid, including financial,” said Al Hammadi.
The damage to apartments affected by the fire will be assessed and the families concerned compensated.
“Around 40 apartments have been damaged, and further assessment is ongoing,” said Al Hammadi.
Some residents whose apartments were not affected by the fire will soon return to their homes as the building’s electricity connection will be restored.
