Frequent fires in some Abu Dhabi buildings worry residents

Abu Dhabi: Frequent fires are becoming a matter of growing concern for residents in some ageing buildings, Gulf News has learnt.

"It is terrible and it is very worrying. Last Sunday's fire in our building was the third incident in the past six months," claimed a resident of a building located in Khalidiya.

On September 20 last year, a fire broke out on the eighth floor of the building triggering a major rescue operation that lasted more than five hours. About 35 people, including eight firemen, sustained injuries due to excessive smoke inhalation.

Four months later, on January 9, a second fire broke out in the electrical room of the building, disrupting power to several floors.

A third incident occurred on March 22. Nine people, including young children, were rescued by civil defence personnel from an apartment on the sixth floor. "It was a pretty intense fire though not as big as the one last year. Luckily, no one was injured," added the resident, who asked not to be named.

Repeated fires in the same building point to grave negligence regarding maintenance and enforcement of safety regulations by the landlord, residents said.

"Doesn't the frequency of the accidents speak by itself about the poor maintenance of the building and why is no action being taken?" said one resident.

After the second incident, families living in some floors of the building were left with no electricity for weeks. Gulf News highlighted their plight, following which the landlord reconnected the power, but only after six weeks.

The residents claimed that they had lodged a formal complaint to the Civil Defence.

"We complained in writing, but none of the officials visited the building as far as we know and no official spoke to us regarding the issue."

Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Al Nuaimi, head of the Quick Intervention Team, said that the building is very old and that it lacked proper safety equipment.

He noted that it is the civil defence and not his department that deals with fire safety of buildings. Despite trying repeatedly, civil defence officials could not be reached for comment on the issue.

Residents also mentioned that poor maintenance is not the only problem. "In some of the three bedroom apartments, as many as 40 people are living. This is totally inhuman."

"It is a very old building but such accidents happening again and again are scary. Maybe there is some electrical problem in the entire building. Someone needs to check this," said another resident.

"We had no lift for weeks earlier and the building itself is in very bad shape."