Two months, two fires, two high-rise apartment buildings badly damaged in Sharjah — with families left homeless, without their possessions, and counting their blessings that no one was seriously hurt. On Saturday morning, the Al Tayer Tower in Al Nahda was badly damaged when fire broke out shortly after 2 am. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, and it will likely take investigators several months to figure out exactly what happened. A similar fire in the Al Baker Tower in Sharjah was determined to have been caused by a carelessly tossed cigarette butt.
There are striking similarities between the fires in that the blaze started on lower levels and spread with relative ease up the external sides of the structures.
It's time now for the authorities concerned to take a long and hard look at the materials used in the exterior cladding of buildings. Photographs taken at the height of the fire show flames licking up the full length of the buildings.
Are the materials used in the construction of these buildings — not just in Sharjah, but across the UAE — safe? Do they meet the full requirements of the fire code? Or do the building codes adequately reflect the need to use fully flame-retardant materials?
During the construction process, the cladding is affixed to the structure, leaving a space between the concrete blocks and the exterior — is this space allowing fires to grow at ease?
Are the chemicals used to affix the cladding to the structure fire retardant? Do these adhesives react with sunlight or heat to break down, adding fuel to fire? Or is the material itself up to scratch, sufficiently fire-proof to keep the flames from spreading?
These questions need to be addressed — not just in Sharjah but in all other emirates where these materials are used. There can be no shortcomings when it comes to fire safety.
