Fire ravaged warehouses spread in about a kilometre in Al Quoz

Dubai: The fire that engulfed warehouses in Al Quoz after an explosion in a fireworks warehouse is one of the biggest ever in the history of Dubai, said Ahmad Obaid Al Sayegh, the deputy director of Dubai Civil Defence.

"We were battling the fire in an estimated area of about a kilometre at one end and around half a kilometre at another," said Al Sayegh, while speaking to the media at the site of the fire accident on Thursday.

Firefighters on Thursday got inside gutted warehouses after launching a phase-by-phase cooling operation.

Al Sayegh said: "Safety of our men is paramount. We opened channels to enter the premises by using water and foam and are now in the re-cooling process."