Tower fire causes Shaikh Zayed Road closure

Dubai: A building under construction on Shaikh Zayed Road caught fire early this morning.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire - which was brought under control at around 9am - started before 6am.

The 29 storey tower was next to Khalid Al Attar building on Shakh Zayed Road and almost opposite to the Emirates Towers.

No casualties or injuries have been reported as a result of the blaze.

Dubai police closed roads leading to Shaikh Zayed Road because of the fire, leading to large tailbacks on the main arterial roads across the city.

Garhoud Bridge was closed briefly in the morning and traffic was heavier on most of the main roads through Dubai.

Eyewitnesses saw debris falling from the building as the top three floors blazed. A thick rising column of smoke could be seen from far.

Fire fighters and police arrived on the scene within minutes and brought the blaze under control by around 9.15am.

Focused attention is necessary on saftey systems in buildings under construction. Fire-fighting systems, using waterproof electrical accessories etc. must be emphasised. Designated staff also need to be in charge round the clock. Nowadays building fires are on the increase.
R. P. Mana
Dubai,UAE

I saw this today morning on the way to my site office at Burj Dubai. I do hope that there won't be any causalty. But why do we have such frequent incidents?
L. Hassan
Dubai,UAE

The work done by the civil defense, and police is commendable.
Rashida
Dubai,UAE

Worksite fires can be caused by a variety of hazards, including unprotected or faulty equipment, unsafe storage of combustible materials, inadequate ventilation, failure to follow established safety guidelines (such as smoking in restricted areas), inattention, human error, and arson. Fortunately, most of these fire hazards can be recognised (and corrected) by making certain employees know safety procedures and keeping alert to potentially dangerous situations. As we cannot expect the Civil Defense authorities to inspect all construction sites, the consultants can deploy a Safety Engineer at the site and inspect on a daily basis along with contractors to prevent fire accidents.
A.Chagla
Doha,Qatar

We don't have enough disaster management facilities.
A. Abraham
Dubai,UAE

I am working at City Tower 2, I travel from Jebel Ali with other staff and I usually reach office around 7am. As the sky was clear this morning I saw black smoke rising up from a tower just opposite Emirates Tower, and everyone in the bus panicked as our building is just in front of it, and when we reached in front of Dusit Dubai we saw a newly coming up building on fire - it is three buildings after City Tower 2. We could see black smoke and fire spreading on the roof of that building. The Police, Fire Brigade, and the Emergency services were already there, and the roads were blocked. So we had to take the route behind the towers. From what I saw, the Fire Brigade was unable to get closer to the building as the construction site was congested, and fire fighters found it difficult to get closer to the burning area. A helicopter was rounding the building, and tenants on the other buildings on either side are evacuated. We could see burning planks, and iron rods falling from the roof. We don't actually know if there were any casualties. The emergency services are doing their best to bring the fire under control.
M Nizam
Dubai,UAE

At 8am, the traffic tailback was up to Dubai Media City and the Al Soufoh road was also affected. I have some pics of the fire, would u like to have them?RegardsAdrian Sidantha
A. Sidantha
Dubai,UAE

Many fire hazards are happening nowadays. Especially at construction sites. This indicates poor safety managment and poor fire protection systems by contractors. This leads to loss of life and money too. Special attention by authorities is a must to prevent these type of incidents.
Nishar.P.S
Sharjah,U A E

The fire on the under construction building on SZR was very much visible as early as 5.30am when I was on my way to office.
N. Dias
Dubai,UAE