Dubai: Lessons learnt from the Tamweel Tower fire of 2012 was one of the reasons why The Torch tower fire this year was swiftly contained without casualties.
The efficiency of the building’s fire system — which was working at 100 per cent capacity, according to officials from the Civil Defence — was also one of the main reasons why the fire did not spread into the apartments.
Brigadier Ahmad Obaid Al Sayegh, Acting Director of Dubai Civil Defence, said that in the Tamweel Tower fire of 2012, the fire system did not work as intended.
“The sprinklers worked in the Tamweel fire, but they used up all the water in the firefighting water tanks. This time, during The Torch tower, we got our own water tanks in case the building’s [water supply] ran out,” he said.
There are a number of similarities between the two tower fires, but learning from previous experiences made a difference to the end results.
Both buildings were high-rises with flammable aluminium polystyrene cladding that accelerated the spread of fire. Aluminium polystyrene cladding is now banned, Brig Al Sayegh said.
Tamweel Tower was 34 storeys high and The Torch was 76 storeys.
“Because of the system working the way it should and our being prepared, The Torch tower fire was brought under control in only 2.5 hours despite the strong winds while the Tamweel Tower fire was contained in 10 hours,” Brig Al Sayegh explained.
The damage to Tamweel Tower was estimated at Dh78 million, and the building was almost gutted, but the damage to The Torch tower was much less, as only four apartments were damaged by the fire and a total of 20 balconies were burnt, according to official reports.
